November 23, 2004
I Can Feel The Acne Coming Back
Fugio links to a massive catalog of vintage video games that includes, well, all of my favorites. Among them are:
Berzerk - The classic game, as far as I was concerned. Simple, yet challenging. And I loved the Cylon-like voice, "Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" Eventually, I got pretty good at caroming shots off the walls to hit robots around the corner. I have one beef with this description tho - as I recollect, sometimes you could kill "Evil Otto" if you were able to pump enough shots into him.
Star Wars - I always prefered this kind of head's up pilot game. And all the sound effects and dialogue clips were enough to let the inner geek in me believe I really was flying an X-wing.
Spy Hunter - I believe I got my very top score on any video game playing this one time, although I don't remember what it was, of course. But once you started grooving on the Peter Gunn theme, you could perform miracles of dexterity - as when playing cat-and-mouse with the helicopter (favorite tactic - getting it to bomb bad guy cars around me).
There was also a Dungeons & Dragons-like game that involved running about a maze and slaying ghosts and midget thieves, while avoiding the touch of Death. Up to four people could play at a time and it was fun to waste quarters working out complex tactical rushes by the warriors while the elf provided covering fire and the wizard stayed the hell out of the way. Can't remember the name of the game, alas. I'm sure some of you know it.
Needless to say, it's been years and years since I played an arcade game. The only games I have at home are Microsoft's WWII airwar series (of which, I prefer the European to the Pacific Theatre), plus Age of Empires and Age of Kings, neither of which I have played in some time. (What with one thing and another, I don't seem to have access to my computer for four or five uninterupted hours of play. Funny, that.)
UPDATE: Dan the Silver Fox calls it - Gauntlet was the name of the fourth game I was trying to think of. Funny how, while I couldn't remember the game's name, I can still quite clearly remember the voice that said, "Elf shot the food."
Posted by Robert at November 23, 2004 12:50 PM | TrackBackGauntlet is the game you're thinking of with Death and the elf etc.
Posted by: Dan at November 23, 2004 01:10 PMGauntlet is correct. They made a GAuntlet 2 just recently, better graphics and such.
Posted by: Brass at November 23, 2004 02:06 PMI will not forget the day in college when I made it to Level 10 on Star Wars and was annointed as part of Princess Leia's Rebel Command. Lloyd's of Lexington Fine Fast Food, Video Arcade & Laundromat may be gone, but I have fond memories . . .
Posted by: LMC at November 23, 2004 02:17 PMRobert--Gauntlet's attract mode had this amazing synthesized pipe organ piece that really cut through the bleeps and bloops of an arcade. Minor key. Vaguely Bach-ish. Unusual touch of class in a video game.
Must go; warrior needs food, badly.
Posted by: See-Dubya at November 23, 2004 02:20 PMSpyhunter was my favorite in college. I can still hear the music, sometimes, when the voices in my head are quiet. :)
Posted by: RP at November 23, 2004 02:33 PM
dun dun dun dun dun dun DUN dun
dun dun dun dun dun dun DUN dun
Daahhhhh . . . . Duh!
Daahhhhh . . . .Da DAAHHH!
Duh DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA dahdun
(Peter Gunn theme, of course)
Spy Hunter f'ing ROCKED!
I bought my PT Cruiser largely because it reminded me of the bad guys gangster car in Spy Hunter . . . and dammit, where is the Weapons Van when you need it. And the whole BOAT sequence. Was there ever a game better than Spy Hunter?
Spy Hunter was the best video game ever. You could play it for a long time on one quarter, and after a while the computer would cheat and do things like put a stopped car in the middle of the road when you were really hauling ass. Or at least that's the way it seemed . . .
The sound I remember the best was the "you just lost" song, "da da da da DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAAA-DAAAA." Love that game. I should find an old one and buy it.
Posted by: Uncle Mikey at November 24, 2004 11:28 AM
