Quiz: Can You Name These Classic Computer Games From Their Old-School Reviews (#1)
In this quiz we will give you a few lines of a review from a classic computer and/or video game. Your job: Name The Game. Leave a comment with your answers below. The first person to get all 10 will win something worthless and virtual.
1.”Computer speech synthesis has just been revolutionized by a product by Don’t Ask Software. Unlike all the other systems, [this product] requires no special hardware. That’s right, [it] provides the highest-quality computerized speech currently available for ATARI computers, and does it with software only. All you need is an ATARI 400 or 800 with at least 32K RAM and one disk drive.”
2.”The scenario of [the game] takes us back several years to the Middle Eastern desert where 64 Americans are being held captive in several sets of barracks. The [game] arrives on a starry night with a full moon beaming. As pilot, you push the stick forward to lift off in search of the first of four groups. You spot them, find a clearing and land. Be careful not to crush the hostages. .“
3.”[the player] in [the game] looks like a typical 1849 gold-rush prospector, but his obstacles in this game are much more futuristic. Deadly mutant organisms and radioactive waste plague his progress through the mine shafts instead of angry Indians or claim jumpers. Like the popular arcade game Donkey Kong, the object of this game is for the player to travel to the top of a ladder (in this case, mine shaft) and score points along the way.“
4. “It is perhaps unfortunate that IMAGIC seems to have translated [the game] almost exactly from the Atari VCS version. Thus, although the game maintains good playability – you want to keep playing to do a little better next time – it doesn’t really have the depth one normally expects from a computer game. IMAGIC wouldn’t have had to go too far afield to find a related scenario – the “Mother Ship” sequence from the Intellivision version of [the game] would have been an admirable addition to this game. I suspect that [the game] may not have the interest holding power of some of the other software now available.“
5. “[the game] is exciting to play, with doors to unlock, and treasures, magic spells, and weapons to pick up. The weapons are most important since you start with only a dagger. Eventually, you’ll find swords, shields, and even bows and arrows in the dungeons. Unlike most other games of this sort, the action can become fast and furious. You may be forced to battle as many as three monsters at once in the upper levels. This combination of role playing and arcade action makes [the game] an exceptional value. “
6. “…you start out with one city and, since the cities are where all your production is done, it’s imperative to quickly locate and conquer new ones. Once a city comes under your control, you decide what type of piece it should start producing: armies, fighters (jets), troop transports, destroyers, submarines, cruisers, battleships or aircraft carriers. Each piece takes a certain amount of time to produce’from a low of five turns for an army to a whopping 50 turns for a battleship’and each has its own attack, defense and move characteristics. “
7. “At last! An Infocom ‘Interactive Fiction’ text adventure of a woman by a woman! News of this incredible breakthrough came as a delightful surprise. For years I’ve been masquerading as a macho male 18 year old in countless adventures, so the chance to shed ‘him’ and become ‘her’ was long overdue and more than welcome. Ripping open the package in a frenzy of anticipation, I thought, ‘Bless you, little Amy Briggs. You have taken one small step for woman, one giant step for womankind.'”
8. “Moving out of the town of Pendragon, you cross the countryside, battling scores of creatures in the forests and dungeons of the land, stopping at inns and towns to rest and build strength. Successful quests are rewarded with gold and experience points; unsuccessful ones are rewarded with death. The kingdom you explore is vast and full of dark dungeons and dangerous monsters, as well as a number of hidden worlds not immediately discovered. But rest assured that if you manage to explore all the nooks and crannies filling the data disk, you will meet the evasive Nikademus and battle him on his own turf.”
9. “You armchair Rambos are sure to get a kick out of this one. [the game] is arcade war action at its most frantic. As the manual states, ‘The object of the game is to score points by surviving and advancing as far as possible through the treacherous jungle.’ The rules are easy; surviving is the difficult part. The instant your fighter steps onto the screen, he will be attacked by wave after wave of enemy soldiers, each soldier firing a rifle or throwing grenades.“
10.“In [the game] you take command of a Cobra Mk III spacecraft. She is fast, maneuverable and pretty well armed. Further, because of her versatile construction, weapons and tools can be added to the ship as funds permit. The basic idea of the game is to make a living (and get rich if you can figure out how) as a trader, roaming among 2,000 planets spread across eight galaxies.”
Remember: Leave a comment with your answers below. The first person to get all 10 will win something worthless and virtual.