Amazing Snake |
ColecoVision |
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Review by Bruce Consolazio |
Self-Published |
Action |
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Graphics: 7 |
Sound: 6 |
Gameplay: 8 |
Overall: 8 |
A homebrew
cartridge game by S.E.T. and Daniel Bienvenu for the ColecoVision, Amazing Snake is
similar to early 1980s games such as Snake Byte and Nibbler. You guide a
snake through 20 screens, trying to eat all of the apples while avoiding crashing into the
border, the maze barriers, and yourself. Complicating matters is the fact that every time
you eat an apple, your snake grows a new segment, making it more and more difficult to
avoid crashing into yourself. After a randomly-determined amount of time, cherries will
appear somewhere in the maze; they are worth 100 points (as opposed to the apples' 10).
Note- you do not have to eat the cherries. You start with 20 snakes, and earn a bonus
snake at every 450 points. And that's
pretty much it. There
are two basic variations in this game: one that has 20 pre-determined mazes, and one that
randomly generates 20 screens, one at a time; they can be anything from perfectly clear
(no maze barriers) to very difficult. There are 9 speeds, ranging from very slow to pretty
much impossible. Graphics
in this game are simple, but attractive. The two title screens are impressive, especially
the one with the large snake and game title on it. The border is a nicely-rendered brick
pattern, while the maze barriers are dark and light green. The apples and cherries are
both red and green, while the letters and numbers are green and gold (a distinct Daniel
Bienvenu touch). Your snake is single-colored green, which makes it more distinct, if
simple-looking. The dominant colors in this game are red and green, and it does have the
look of a game circa 1980/1981. Sound
is simple enough, being limited mostly to crashes, the sound of your snake eating
something, and a nifty tune if you fail to get through all 20 screens. It all actually
works very well here, in a relaxing sort of way. Gameplay
is, overall, quite good, but takes a little practice. All of the images used in this game
seem to be custom characters, so controlling the snake itself is very awkward at first.
Once you get the hang of it, though, you'll wonder how it ever gave you any trouble. If
you choose the pre-set mazes, you will go through 20 distinct mazes, each with its own
name. The random option is just that: you may get an easy game or one that's really
difficult, with complex mazes. Which speed you choose will, naturally, determine overall
difficulty; speed 7 will be VERY challenging, but not quite impossible. In short, you can
play a relaxing game, or an impossible one. Or something between the two. From
time to time minor glitches will occur: a hole may appear in the brick barrier in the
upper right, and sometimes a portion of one of the green maze barriers will be out of
place. Neither glitch is serious, though, and the latter can actually make the game a bit
more interesting. The random setting is much less likely to have any of this happen, by
the way. In
addition to all of this, there are some extra options. There is a 2-player game version,
but it simply allows Player 1 to play the odd-numbered screens, while Player 2 plays the
even-numbered screens (if you play the normal version and merely pass the controller back
and forth, you would have the same thing). The score is shared. In this version, the snake
often develops a visual glitch when moving left. An
interesting bonus is one of the most peculiar variations of "Pong" you'll ever
see: a version that uses snakes instead of paddles. Separating the 2 sides of the screen
is a blue "waterfall" effect, while the left and right sides have an interesting
"rolling" effect made of white stars. The snakes use their bodies (never their
heads!) to deflect the blue ball back and forth, and they can move anywhere within their
areas. It's a weird, but welcome, inclusion, and certainly unlike any other game out
there! Finally,
I should mention the clever box. It has a picture of the "arcade version" of Amazing
Snake, just like the old ColecoVision boxes, bragging that the cartridge plays like
the UNRELEASED arcade game... and the back is authentic-looking, too! Overall, this is not the best-looking, best-sounding, or best-programmed game for the ColecoVision, but it's an attractive, pleasant, and fun game, and of a sort not already available for this console, which makes it even more welcome. Thanks to S.E.T., Daniel Bienvenu, and everyone else involved with this game for giving ColecoVision owners another winner. |