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= "VIC-20 Cartridge Software Reviews" =
= (One section of four total) =
= AKA: Cartzilla! =
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= Release date: February 14, 1999 =
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Copyright notice: (c) 1999 Ward Shrake. All rights reserved.
However, the author and copyright holder grants his permission
to any individual(s) for any non-profit use of this document. I
just ask that any such people will be fair and honest in giving
me my due credit for any and all work that I have done, just as
I have gone to great pains to credit those before me. Thanks!
Visit "VIC-20 Digital Archaeology" on the web:
http://members.aol.com/wshrake/index.htm
Also be sure to check out: ftp.funet.fi
(See the /pub/cbm/vic20 directories.)
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GAME NAME: Sargon II chess
COMPANY : Commodore (Licensed from Hayden Book Co. Inc.) [Vic-1919]
AUTHOR : Dan & Kathe Spracklen (1982?)
GAME TYPE: Chess simulation.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
TRIVIA : The copyright date listed onscreen predates the existence of the
Vic20 and therefore cannot be accurately used to tell when this
program was created. Anyone have solid info on when it was made?
I suspect it was made in 1982, judging by its part # positioning.
COMMENTS : I don't play chess so I couldn't see the point in reviewing this
game. (At least I'm honest.) Obviously, newer versions for more
powerful machines are going to play at a more expert level. When
this program was made, electronic chess was still a novelty item.
The idea of playing chess, against a computer, at home, may as
well have been science fiction just a few years before. Of course
calculators and digital watches were recent hits then too, so....
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GAME NAME: Satellite Patrol
COMPANY : HES (Human Engineered Software) [C3__]
AUTHOR : Teddysoft (1982)
GAME TYPE: Variants of "Time Pilot" and/or "Asteroids".
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5). Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Really blocky in places but the color use is well done. The main
part of the screen looks somewhat plainly done and this may hide
the technically impressive multi-directional scrolling effects at
first. The moving border effects are nicely done, as well. Some
of the Vic's library just aren't done any justice in screen shots.
SOUND : Average but nicely done.
GAMEPLAY : Fun, but the multi-directional scrolling must have been quite
trippy for its time! Nice pacing and good game tension build-up.
OVERALL : I like its gameplay and am impressed by its technical aspects too.
COMMENTS : This is a 4k game internally, although it requires 8k to run.
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GAME NAME: Satellites and Meteorites!
COMPANY : UMI (United Microware Industries, Inc.) [1650]
AUTHOR : Roger L. Merritt (1982)
GAME TYPE: Variant of the arcade coin-op game "Asteroids".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Very good. Lots of stuff onscreen, all moving around at once.
SOUND : OK. The makers spent most of their resources getting the gameplay
and screen "right". I can forgive the lack of background music.
GAMEPLAY : Darn good! This is the best Asteroids variant on the Vic by far.
OVERALL : Excellent. It may not be a "Raiden" for lots of things onscreen
at once, but it sure is impressive within a Vic20's limitations!
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GAME NAME: Scorpion
COMPANY : Tronix
AUTHOR : Jimmy Huey (1983)
GAME TYPE: Overhead-view maze-type shooter.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Well done. Detailed characters and nice multi-direction scrolling.
SOUND : Pretty good. Love that "chain gun" sound effect!
GAMEPLAY : Very good. The company prided itself on its fast-paced games.
OVERALL : If you like shooting sprees, you should like this one a lot!
REVIEW : "If you're sick of escorting frogs across the street, you can now
shoot them and feed them to your family. Scorpion is an extremely
fast-moving action/maze game. With eight enemies, you don't have
to look far for something to kill. The maze scrolls all four ways
and the radar scanner tells you where you are. Three difficulty
settings, 32 levels." ("Computer Games", Jan/Feb 1985, page 54)
TRIVIA : Was this game one of the first quad-directional scrollers? (In
other words, a game that showed only part of the screen at any
one time and let you move the world to you when going offscreen.)
Most game screens at the time stayed put, and never changed.
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GAME NAME: Sea Wolf
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1937]
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Authorized translation of coin-op game "Sea Wolf".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Very good. Simple-looking, but this matches the arcade original.
SOUND : Very good. Again, they match the original game pretty well.
GAMEPLAY : Very good. Much like the original arcade game.
OVERALL : Very good. I miss the periscope of the original, but that's all.
AD TEXT : "As submarine commander you are in charge of sinking and
destroying all enemy ships ... destroyers, freighters and P.T.
boats ... an explosive Bally/Midway 'arcade classic'. Fast action
fun!!" (Seen in "Commodore Power Play", Spring 1983, page 104)
TRIVIA : The original coin-op was a 1975 game by Midway. The ad text above
is refering to older arcade games Commodore was converting over.
When Commodore switched over (from the Vic20 to the C64) later,
some of these games were re-converted. The simpler games, like
Sea Wolf, are probably closer translations on the Vic20 than C64.
Perhaps they felt that with more time having passed, the games
needed to be updated? And also, to better show off the new C64.
TRIVIA : "Next Generation" magazine, issue 24, makes reference to a game
that may be the direct ancestor of both this game and its video
arcade parent. See article on Sega's co-founder, for some more
info on the electro-mechanical (non-video) game "Periscope".
TRIVIA : The original game's cabinet made the game much more convincing and
fun. A realistic metal periscope came down from the top of the
cabinet. You looked through the periscope at the game screen. When
you turned the periscope to the left or right, your torpedos'
aiming mechanism would move with it ... much like Space Invader's
moving base at the bottom of the screen. They added a visually
interesting twist, however. You had four torpedos at a time. Then
you had to wait momentarily for the game to reload you. Inside the
periscope's eyepiece was an optical illusion similar to a "heads
up" see-through display in aircraft. To know how many torpedos you
had available, you had to be looking through the eyepiece. You saw
a little red symbol lit up for each remaining torpedo. You fired,
then one of them would turn off. When all four were gone you had
to wait until they all lit up again. Meanwhile, ships were going by
and you were helpless to do anything about it until they reloaded.
The effect helped to make the game more immersive. It added to the
game, through suspense and pace. "Come on, come on, oh finally"
you would think, then blast your next four torpedos away.... Did
I mention that you fired them using a thumb button, also on the
periscope assembly? Sigh ... a joystick does this game no justice!
BTW, the original Battlezone also had a periscope controller.
TRIVIA : This game got lots of space here (A) because I just happen to like
the game, (B) because I had lots of reference materials on it, and
(C) because it is a link in an evolutionary process. Think of this
as a different way to play Space Invaders, basically. (Which in
a sense was similar to the earlier, mechanical shooting games
found at carnivals.) The concept remains pretty much the same,
even if the details changed over time. And they are all fun, too!
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GAME NAME: Seafox
COMPANY : Broderbund
AUTHOR : Programmed by Mike Wise (1983)
GAME TYPE: Original submarine game.
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5). Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Plainly colored, but the animation and fine detailing are good.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : A bit more complex than most. It's probably the type of thing
where you "feel like you got your money's worth" because of it.
OVERALL : I like games that are simpler and faster paced, but this does seem
to be a well-balanced game with real thought put into making it.
REVIEW : "Seafox is an underwater adventure game for both the VIC and 64.
You must take on a convoy of enemy ships while dodging depth
charges, mines and torpedos." (Press release seen in Compute's
Gazette, Aug 83, page 101.)
TRIVIA : The title screens credit Ed Hobbs with the concept, apparently.
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GAME NAME: Serpentine
COMPANY : Creative Software (Licensed from Broderbund)
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Maze / snake / eating game.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Good. Animation of the snake movement is pretty good.
SOUND : Fair. Effects are ok, the song gets annoying after a while.
GAMEPLAY : Good. Seems lame at first, then gets more fun as you keep playing.
OVERALL : Good. Grows on you ... give it a try.
AD TEXT : "In the Kingdom of Serpents, the only rule is eat or be eaten.
Three huge and evil red snakes are slithering through a complex
series of mazes, closing in on your good blue serpent from all
sides. Move fast and watch your tail! Try to survive long enough
to let your eggs hatch into reinforcements. Swallow the magical
frogs or your enemy's eggs and you can get the strength to go on
... but look out to your left ... and ahead of you! They've got
you surrounded, and it looks like meal time." (Seen in EG, Dec83)
TRIVIA : Ad also mentions this program was "selected as some of the 'most
innovative computer programs' 1983 CES Software Showcase Awards"
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GAME NAME: Shamus
COMPANY : HES (licensed from Synapse Software Inc.) [C307]
AUTHOR : Tom E. Griner (1983)
GAME TYPE: Variant of "Berzerk" with some new features added.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Very good. Hi-res graphics with cool visual effects.
SOUND : Nice music. Sound effects in general are very good in this one.
GAMEPLAY : "Fast-paced" does no justice to the higher levels of this game.
"Die in two seconds after entering a room" is more like it. Of
course individual tastes vary, but personally I love this game!
OVERALL : Wonderful. I wouldn't change a thing. The C64 version kicks, too.
AD TEXT : "The odor tells you the Shadow's there -- in one of four levels
of 32 rooms, each bristling with danger. You know it won't be a
high school prom, but there's no turning back. Shamus -- the
sleuth adventure classic." (Synapse Software ad in Oct 1983
Compute's Gazette magazine)
TRIVIA : The arcade game "Berzerk" had a few phrases of speech, which kept
players coming back for more. That isn't really needed here; the
rapid pace and frantic gameplay makes up for the missing speech.
TRIVIA : There is a lengthy portion of text hidden within the program's
code. (At $____ to $____.) It is a message from Tom Griner to any
software pirates who might be considering distributing his code.
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GAME NAME: Sir Lancelot
COMPANY : Xonox
AUTHOR : unknown (1983)
GAME TYPE: Variant of the arcade coin-op game "Joust".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Very plain background coloring and detail, but the animation of
the active characters is done well. They feel too small, however,
but I suppose they did fit a lot onto the screen that way. Given
their design concept, I doubt it could be done much better.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : Similar enough to the real arcade Joust to make non-avid players
happy, but falling short of being the same experience. A large
screen is necessary to play and enjoy the game. A standard monitor
might be ok, but a large TV would be better. Why? Because you are
required to quickly judge small graphic differences, to stay above
your oponent's lance, just as in the original Joust.
OVERALL : One of the only Xonox games I like. It is flawed in some ways but
given the limits of the Vic20, I don't think programmers of the
time could do significantly better. It's a very good effort.
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GAME NAME: Skibbereen
COMPANY : UMI (United Microware Industries, Inc.) [1641]
AUTHOR : Joanne Lee / "Jolee" (1982)
GAME TYPE: Combination of Breakout and Pong variants, for two players.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Paddle controllers, NOT a joystick.
GRAPHICS : Simple but colorful. Breakout clones in general aren't very much
more than big, brightly colored blocks on the screen.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : A nice variant of the Breakout experience. Having two opposing
sides competing against one another was a nice idea, I think.
OVERALL : A simple enough game, with good game play and some nice twists.
One of the few simultaneous multi-player or paddle games.
TRIVIA : This is a 4k game internally, although it requires 8k to run.
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GAME NAME: Sky Is Falling, the
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1911]
AUTHOR : unknown (1981)
GAME TYPE: Part of the "Children's series".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Uses paddle controllers, NOT joysticks.
GRAPHICS : Good. Simple, but effective. Lots of rows of stuff to fall down.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : Good. Something like "Kaboom!" (for the Atari 2600) in concept.
OVERALL : Good. For its intended audience of children, probably great. For
adults, who've presumably played "Kaboom!" before, nothing new.
AD TEXT : "Help Chicken Little by catching pieces of the sky as they fall!
A great 'first game' to teach motor skills ... fun and chall-
enging!" (Seen in "Commodore Power Play", Spring 1983, page 105.)
TRIVIA : Some folks might say this is just a clone of the popular Atari
2600 console game "Kaboom!" by Activision. Others may point to an
earlier Atari arcade coin-op game (called "Avalanche") as the
ancestral game idea behind both "Kaboom!" & "The sky is falling".
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GAME NAME: Skyblazer
COMPANY : Broderbund
AUTHOR : Jeff Silverman and Tony Suzuki (1983)
GAME TYPE: Original game, vaguely influenced by "Defender".
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5). Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Really nice! Check out some of the more subtle tricks; the stars
in the background scrolling by at different speeds (paralax), the
smooth animation and movement of everything, etc. Even the attract
mode is a viewing pleasure. Especially considering that an attract
mode is largely an unnecessary frill in a non-arcade (home) game!
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : Deep and well balanced with the potential for many hours of happy
gaming. Broderbund generally gave you more than your moneys worth.
OVERALL : I'm surprised this cartridge is as hard to find as it is. Or at
least I was, until I realized people don't want to give theirs up!
REVIEW : "Sky Blazer is the name of the WWII plane you pilot as you attack
the headquarters of the repressive Bungeling Empire. In this VIC
game, you'll have to keep an eye on your fuel consumption and
limited bomb load, and hope the supply plane arrives on time."
(Press release seen in Compute's Gazette, Aug 83, page 101.)
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GAME NAME: Slot
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1904]
AUTHOR : unknown (1981)
GAME TYPE: Slot machine simulation.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Average. Character-based graphics used, but they work out ok.
They are colorful and fairly recognizable, if nothing else.
SOUND : Good. Fairly nice effects, overall. Even the wheels spinning has
a nice sound to it. Nice fanfare for when you've won, too.
GAMEPLAY : Very good, if your expectations are reasonable. The only real
improvements modern systems have other this are in audio-visuals.
OVERALL : Good to very good. If it keeps me from going to a real gambling
establishment, and saves me all that lost money, its excellent!
Either way, it can be a relaxing way to kill some free time.
AD TEXT : "Colorful slot machine game works just like the real thing! Great
music and sound effects." (Seen in Spring 1983 "Commodore Power
Play" magazine, page 102.)
REVIEW : An article in the Nov 1982 issue of "Electronic Games" magazine
has a photo caption that says "The Vic-20's Slot Machine cartridge
carries its simulation so far that it actually has a coin slot."
TRIVIA : Perhaps Commodore's first "legal" cartridge for the Vic20? The
previous carts, numerically, seemed to be non-authorized versions
of other company's most popular games. (Avenger #1901 is really
"Space Invaders", Star Battle #1902 is really "Galaxian", and
#1903 is still an unconfirmed title we haven't managed to find,
which leads us to believe it may have been more of the same.)
COMMENTS : Fire inserts a coin(s), joystick back pulls the lever for you.
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GAME NAME: Snake Byte
COMPANY : Sirius Software [22031]
AUTHOR : Dan Stanfield (1982)
GAME TYPE: Snake chase game; like the light cycles in the 1982 movie "Tron".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Abstract art. That's what comes to mind when I see these graphics.
They are nicely done, for this genre of game; don't get me wrong.
But it's hard to identify with colored lines as game characters.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : Interesting, if you like this type of game. I never really got
into it myself. Try it out. See if you like it more than I do?
OVERALL : For a game made in only 4k of memory this is not bad. But compared
to later 8k or 16k games, its just not all that deep. Go watch the
movie "Tron" again and pay attention to the light cycles. Its a
kick to think of this game and that movie as being historical
peers. Computer hardware is obsoleted quickly; games even more so.
Nevertheless, both can be fun to playfully revisit once in a while.
AD TEXT : "What has 4k bytes and is addictive? Snake Byte. The game starts
out politely. You, the Snake, may accept or decline the presence
of the Perilous Purple Plums. Next, simply slither around the
screen, chomping down apples as you go. Sound easy? Well, no more
Mr. nice guy ... Each time you eat an apple, your Snake grows
longer and moves faster. Soon, your head doesn't know what its
tail is doing. If you bump into a wall or a bouncing Plum or even
yourself, you break your fangs. But, if you're a snappy Snake and
scarf up all ten apples, a door will appear and you're off to a
more difficult maze. Snake Byte, a game you can sink your teeth
in to. It's an antidote for boredom. Fangs alot, Sirius!" (Box.)
REVIEW : Game was reviewed in the March 1984 issue of Compute, page 122.
TRIVIA : Box art says "Game design by Chuck Sommerville. Vic-20 version by
Dan Stanfield."
TRIVIA : This game is 4k long; the box art even says so. In other words,
Snakebyte is half the code size of most of the later Vic20 carts,
and a quarter of the size of even later games. This would explain
why the game seems so simplistic in most aspects. Not bad for 4k?
(Once your cart archivists looked, we found many more cartridges
that were really only 4k in length.. see our cart list for more.)
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GAME NAME: Space Ric-O-Shay
COMPANY : OEM
AUTHOR : unknown (198_)
GAME TYPE: Unknown at this time. Presumed to be a space shooter.
REQUIRED : Unknown. We haven't yet had access to one, to archive it.
COMMENTS : "VGA2000" has screenshots up on his web site, so it must exist.
However, he has the only copy we are aware of, at present.
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GAME NAME: Space Snake
COMPANY : Handic Benelux B.V.
AUTHOR : Geert Hofstede (1982)
GAME TYPE: Original "dodging objects" game.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Paddle or keyboard. Disable Bank 1 if present.
GRAPHICS : Average. The movement is smooth enough with some color.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : Most people would say it is frustrating, I think. Semi-pointless.
Internally, it appears to be made up largely of BASIC code.
OVERALL : Flawed. Probably OK as a tape game, but if this was ever truly a
cartridge game (still unconfirmed as yet), I doubt it sold many.
Then again it came out in 1982; still fairly early, I suppose.
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GAME NAME: Speed Math & Bingo Math
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1933]
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Educational. Two versions of math drills for youngsters.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Keyboard.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you may need the original instructions.
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GAME NAME: Spider City
COMPANY : Sirius
AUTHOR : unknown (1983)
GAME TYPE: Original space shooter, with some influence from "Defender".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : The advanced techniques used will give Vic emulators fits, so it
is fairly obvious that Sirius spent some time on their graphics!
SOUND : Average or better.
GAMEPLAY : Good grief! This has that same sense of gaming tension that the
original arcade Defender did and many of the same play elements.
Definitely faced paced. I hope your joystick is heavy duty!
OVERALL : Give it a shot, but if you're using an emulated Vic20, good luck.
TRIVIA : Was this game originally intended to be called "Flash Gordon" and
released by 20th Century Fox? An ad in the Summer 1983 issue of
"Commodore Power/Play" magazine (page 100) has a pre-release ad
for such a game. The screen shot looks like Spider City and the
text mentions that name... "Space Rescue game on cartridge for
the Vic20. maneuver through underground tunnels and battle spider
warriors to save American spacemen trapped in Spider City.
Package features a full-color poster from the film." So who knows?
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GAME NAME: Spiders of Mars
COMPANY : UMI (United Microware Industries, Inc.) [1604]
AUTHOR : Peter Fokos (198_)
GAME TYPE: Variant of arcade coin-op "Defender" by Williams.
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5). Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Plain backgrounds and huge characters, but with smooth scrolling
and fast movement throughout the game. A good set of compromises.
SOUND : Average. It could use a more macho-sounding laser gun, though!
GAMEPLAY : Not the same experience as Defender, but much the same pacing.
OVERALL : Give it a try, especially if you are a fan of arcade Defender.
REVIEW : "You're the Martian Fly, defending your planet against spiders
and their winged allies. They attack from all sides using smart
bombs and homing missiles. If the spider makes it to the surface,
you're dead. The enemy attack in large numbers and their weapons
are very accurate. This game is similar to Defender, but with
more interesting enemies. True arcade action, great graphics and
sound effects. (A)" (From "Computer Games", Jan/Feb 1985, pg 55)
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GAME NAME: Spike's Peak
COMPANY : Xonox
AUTHOR : unknown (1983)
GAME TYPE: Original game, ported to many platforms.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Average or better. Nicely done (if surreal looking) mountains. The
graphics on most screens are a little plain, but not bad looking.
SOUND : Average or better. A nice try at a catchy opening tune. I like
the feet-stamping sounds the monster characters make; it adds a
bit more gaming tension, which generally gets you more involved.
GAMEPLAY : Better than most by Xonox. I suppose this one could hold its own
against most games of the times, especially on gaming consoles.
Some of the screens feel just a bit like Miner 2049'er variants.
OVERALL : Years ago as a double-ender cart, this probably wasn't a bad deal.
Now, as a freebie ROM image, it certainly warrants a second look.
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GAME NAME: Spills & Fills
COMPANY : Creative Software
AUTHOR : Marc-Thomas Clifton (1983)
GAME TYPE: "Concept home education software."
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions.
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GAME NAME: Springer
COMPANY : Tigervision
AUTHOR : unknown (1983)
GAME TYPE: Original platform game.
REQUIRED : 16k RAM. (8k each in banks 3 & 5.) Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Plain looking. Compares to many of Atari's early 2600 games.
SOUND : Yuck! Turn the volume down. The opening "music" sounds awful.
GAMEPLAY : I'd have to admit that I didn't play this enough to make a solid
opinion of it. The risk/reward ratio didn't keep me coming back.
The use of multiple screens may be a plus, however, assuming you
like the initial experience enough to want to come back for more!
OVERALL : Just to be fair, try it yourself. But for myself, I see why this
is a hard-to-find game. A last minute "Vic20 is dying out" effort.
AD TEXT : "Springer. Three screens triple the action. Help Springer, a
magical rabbit, jump from cloud to cloud on a thrill-filled trek
to the sun. Along the way, there are bonus points to collect and
dragons to fight. And, remember, Springer has three screens. So
the farther you get the harder it gets." (Seen in Electronic
Games, Dec 83, page 110. Ad was about a quarter page in size.)
TRIVIA : The ad above has three screenshots shown, but as they are barely
larger than an inch apiece, and the ad was black and white, you
really can't view that much difference between the 3 screens. And
with the real game fired up? Same things, in different positions.
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GAME NAME: Star Battle
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1902]
AUTHOR : See Trivia. (1981)
GAME TYPE: Clone of arcade classic "Galaxian". (Apparently unauthorized.)
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick or keyboard play.
GRAPHICS : Good overall, but with some occasional glitches. Very colorful.
SOUND : Good. Very clear seperation of background music and the noises
of ships, lasers. This might kick butt with a good subwoofer!
GAMEPLAY : Very good. Arguably better than the authorized version.
OVERALL : Very good. One of the better Galaxian clones on any game console.
AD TEXT : "The deadliest fleet in the universe is zeroing in on your star
base. This mission is your greatest challenge... while you protect
your base from the deadly drones you must be wary of the diving
flagships with their trained escorts. This is Star Battle." (From
the box art / instruction sheet. Same text also shown in French.)
REVIEW : "Letting the invaders peel out of the formation and swoop low
across the field to bomb the player's movable cannon at close
range is the principle behind Galaxian. The SI sequel combines
less predictable invader movements with a more exciting visual
treatment." (Seen in Electronic Games, Dec 1983, pages 53 & 60.)
TRIVIA : The onscreen titles only show part of these internal messages:
"(C) 1981 COMMODORE JAPAN THIS PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY - SATORU
IWATA - APR.19.1981 HAL LABORATORY AKIHABARA TOKYO JAPAN"
TRIVIA : The coin-op game "Galaxian" was a 1979 game put out by Midway,
who licensed it from Namco. The game was essentially an updated
version of Space Invaders, which was a 1978 game made by Taito
... but which was in turn licensed from Midway. Got all that?
TRIVIA : Rumored to have been pulled off the market due to legal problems.
Could well be true. Opening screens refers to "Commodore Japan".
(Was this an attempt to avoid US copyright law enforcement?) The
french/english box art sheet was apparently meant for Canada. And
this is one of the hardest Commodore-made Vic20 carts to find.
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GAME NAME: Star Post
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1939]
AUTHOR : See Trivia. (1982?)
GAME TYPE: Original space shooting game ... but see comments.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick. Disable bank 1 if present.
GRAPHICS : Average. Nice in some places, fairly crude and blocky in others.
SOUND : Good. Some nice effects; laser zaps and tension effects are good.
GAMEPLAY : Mixed. One of those "some will like it and others hate it" things.
OVERALL : Good, but with reservations.
AD TEXT : "3D space action ... you control the laser to destroy the flying
aliens and objects. Allow less than 8 hits on your base and
advance to the next level!" (Seen in "Commodore Power Play", on
page 104 of the Spring 1983 issue)
TRIVIA : Internal codes indicate the design was by Greg Carbonaro and
programming was by Mike Wriedel. No onscreen credits were given.
These two gents normally wrote games for Spectravideo. (See also
the write-ups on "Ape Escape" and "Cosmic Jailbreak").
COMMENTS : The play mechanic is a bit hard to get used to. This hides a real
resemblance to Atari's coin-op game "Tempest" in some ways. In
fact, I bet that good coders with time on their hands might be
able to remake this game into a Vic20 clone of Tempest. Fire up
the game. Look at it and consider these thoughts. First reverse
the direction the monsters travel (inward to outward). Should be
easy enough. Next, change the background to be a framework web
instead of the odd patchwork space station design that it is now.
Now look at the game. Couldn't you just tweak things from there?
Might this not be just what Commodore did, but in reverse? I bet
it is possible. It seems the game may have existed earlier than
it was released. That much can be seen from the dating found
inside the code, compared with its post-1983 list positioning.
And it was originally written by two guys from outside Commodore,
who'd been liberally "influenced" by popular arcade games before.
It was written earlier, but released later. Doesn't this sound as
if re-writes were necessary before release? Even though Commodore
had apparently bought a functioning game from these gents? By now
Commodore had been scared off of too-close copies, so that fits.
We have another mystery on our hands, but an interesting one....
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GAME NAME: Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
COMPANY : Sega Enterprises, Inc. [004-04]
AUTHOR : See Trivia. (1983)
GAME TYPE: Original space simulation game.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Very good. Nice raster title effect, clean screen layouts, good
split-screen control, etc. Someone knew the Vic pretty well.
SOUND : Good. No background music, but the sound effects are acceptable.
GAMEPLAY : Good. I was never fond of this type of game (it was released on
many other platforms as well) but it is well done, nonetheless.
OVERALL : Very high quality, all around. It may have been a multi-system
port, but it is a well done. Fans of the game should love it.
TRIVIA : Hidden internal message at $ad82: "STAR TREK BY ERIC J POPEJOY
2138293641". Those numbers sure look a lot like a phone number!
And 213 is a valid area code in the Southern California area.
TRIVIA : The full-color cartridge label is beautiful, as are the other
early Sega games. (Congo Bongo and Buck Rogers.) Bravo, Sega!
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GAME NAME: Story Machine
COMPANY : HES (Licensed from Spinnaker) [C323]
AUTHOR : Michael Cranford (1983)
GAME TYPE: Educational.
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5).
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions.
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GAME NAME: Sub Chase
COMPANY : UMI (United Microware Industries, Inc.) [16__]
AUTHOR : Roger L. Merritt (1982)
GAME TYPE: Original submarine game.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Average or better. Not really great or bad. They do the job.
SOUND : Just simple sound effects, but they work ok.
GAMEPLAY : Like Sea Wolf, but backwards. You are the destoyer at the top of
the screen, dropping depth charges on the subs below. Your large
ship doesn't turn around very quickly, so plan ahead accordingly.
Kind of neat to have more ammo available than Sea Wolf, however.
OVERALL : Not bad at all, especially for a game made in 4k of memory!
TRIVIA : This is a 4k game internally, although it requires 8k to run.
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GAME NAME: Submarine Commander
COMPANY : Thorn EMI [THC 22003]
AUTHOR : unknown (1982?)
GAME TYPE: Original global warfare strategy game.
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5). Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Good or better. The Vic20 had definite limits to deal with. They
managed to get a lot onscreen, make it legible, & balance things.
SOUND : Average or better.
GAMEPLAY : Don't know. We don't have access to the original instructions.
OVERALL : What is there, looks like it has potential. But without docs...
COMMENTS : This is actually a 12k game internally. (8k + another 4k.)
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GAME NAME: Super Amok
COMPANY : UMI (United Microware Industries, Inc.) [1642]
AUTHOR : Roger L. Merritt (198_)
GAME TYPE: Clone of the arcade coin-op "Berzerk". (And upgrade of "Amok".)
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Very good indeed! Much improved from their "Amok" game. Lots of
nifty added features, like smooth scrolling to the next screen.
SOUND : Good ... but no speech, as the original "Berzerk" game had. But
most other home conversions had no speech either. (The Atari 5200
Berzerk game claimed to have some speech built into the cart.)
GAMEPLAY : Very good! Fun to play and fairly addicting too.
OVERALL : A well done clone of "Berzerk". Very professionally done. And a
nice game as a stand-alone, too. Amok was OK, but this kills it.
REVIEW : "Pity the poor robot guard! It seems that no matter where it tries
to hold down a job, some would-be hero comes dashing in, trying
to shoot the whole robot squad on some fool mission! How's a
fellow supposed to keep his chips together? It's no different in
Super Amok.... All in all, Roger Merritt has done a nice job with
this variation on an increasingly-familiar theme. Play action is
fine, with a plus in a pause when the gamer moves to a new passage
eliminating the old 'walk-through-a-door-and-into-a-bullet'
syndrome. Also, its graphics are adequate, with the hero partic-
ularly charming when in motion.... In sum, a solid game if a bit
less than overwhelmingly original." (Seen in Electronic Games,
Dec83, page 86. Review by Charlene Komar.)
TRIVIA : Just for your info, the original "Berzerk" was a Stern game.
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GAME NAME: Super Expander with 3k RAM
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1211A]
AUTHOR : unknown (198_)
GAME TYPE: Utility program.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
TRIVIA : There are two parts to this; 4k of ROM, and 3k of internal RAM.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions and/or
the original cartridge. (A ROM image won't give you the 3k RAM.)
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GAME NAME: Super Smash
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1921]
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Clone of "Breakout".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Paddle controllers.
GRAPHICS : Very simple, as any Breakout clone is. Big colorful blocks. Might
be easy to see on an older laptop, if you're running in emulation.
SOUND : See overall.
GAMEPLAY : See overall.
OVERALL : Just what you'd expect from a Breakout clone. Simple and fun.
AD TEXT : "The World Championship is at stake! As a finalist do you have the
cat-like relexes to return the speeding ball and take the crown?"
(Seen in the Spring 1983 issue of "Commodore Power Play" page 103)
COMMENTS : It may be hard to believe no, but this title was once a benchmark
game. The early Apple ][ series, for instance, used their version
of Breakout to demonstrate their graphic capabilities, when they
were first pushing it. The Vic plays breakout with ease, too. I
wonder if there was any competition between Apple & CBM, with this
game? There certainly was some strong competition over price!
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GAME NAME: Synthesound
COMPANY : HES (Human Engineered Software) [C306]
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Educational.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick. Disable bank 1 if present.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions.
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GAME NAME: Tank Atak
COMPANY : Supersoft
AUTHOR : B. Cotton (1982)
GAME TYPE: Variant of arcade coin-op "Battlezone".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Not a graphic masterpiece, but then again some people would argue
that the vector graphics of the original B'zone weren't either.
Do you like your B'Zone graphics solid or outlined? Personally, I
prefer the original flavor. Your mileage may vary.
SOUND : What's there is average, but something seems lacking. The sound
of your tank moving in B'zone, added some tension and excitement.
GAMEPLAY : Could use a bit more fine-tuning, I think. It has some parts that
are arguably better than B'zone (its speed) but may lack balance.
OVERALL : A playable but somewhat flawed clone of an arcade classic. Try it
out, especially if trueness to the original doesn't bother you.
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GAME NAME: Terraguard
COMPANY : Creative Software
AUTHOR : Tom E. Griner (1982)
GAME TYPE: Original space shooting game.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : OK but not up to the author's later standards. Some of the effects
and such seem to be recycled for use in some of his other games?
The exploding characters, for instance, are also used in Predator.
SOUND : Average. Again, I know I've heard these same sounds before.
GAMEPLAY : Fun enough, but not insanely fun. Not hugely flawed; it's just
that I've come to expect quite a bit from Mr. Griner's later
works, and this does not compare favorably to those other games.
OVERALL : See gameplay. You can definitely see Mr. Griner has a handle on
some areas of the gaming experience, but they aren't yet as well
integrated as his later works were. One of his earliest works?
Sometimes, early games were hand-coded, later ones assembled; the
difference in available programming tools may be reflected here?
COMMENTS : This is a 4k game internally, although it requires 8k to run.
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GAME NAME: The Count Adventure
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1917]
AUTHOR : Andy Finkel (1981)
GAME TYPE: "Scott Adams Adventure Games" series. (#5 of 5.)
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 2 and 3). Keyboard controlled.
The game starts when you type "SYS 32592" and hit the RETURN key.
AD TEXT : "You wake up in a large brass bed in a castle somewhere in Tran-
sylvania. Who are you, what are you doing here, and WHY did the
postman deliver a bottle of blood? It's LOVE AT FIRST BYTE!"
(Seen in "Commodore Power Play" magazine, Spring 1983, page 105)
COMMENTS : See the entry for Adventure Land Adventure for more information
on any of the games in this series.
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GAME NAME: Threshold
COMPANY : Sierra On-line Inc. [THL-401]
AUTHOR : I.C.G. (1981)
GAME TYPE: Translation of "Astro-Blaster"; 1981 Sega/Gremlin arcade coin-op.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Good overall. Maybe fair compared to the original arcade? Those
graphics weren't astounding, but they were better than these are.
Most of the elements are still there, for the most part.
SOUND : Good enough, although missing the original's built-in speech,
which added a lot to the game. (Mostly frustration, but still!)
However, if you didn't know about the original, it would be fine.
GAMEPLAY : Good. Fun as is, and pretty much like the arcade originals, at
least in concept. It lost the docking level, for instance. (It is
more like FMV now, than a separate level requiring skill. Sigh.)
OVERALL : Very good. I miss the arcade original, but this is a good game.
REVIEW : "Threshold resembles most multi-scenario invasion games with one
major difference: Some vertical movement is permitted. This idea,
adapted from the world's most popular NON-SF invasion game,
Centipede, further reduces the stifling effects of patterned
target movement on overall play." (Seen in Dec83 EG, page 59)
Unfortunately, on the Vic20 version, there is no vertical moving.
TRIVIA : Astro-Blaster, the arcade ancestor of this game, was never widely
available. I saw one AB machine many years ago. Now that it can
be played via MAME my craving has finally been satisfied, but for
many years this is one of those "fish that got away" stories for
me. The fact that it is not a bad copy, even though it is missing
the arcade machine's speech, etc, helped convince me to pay much
more attention to the Vic20. There were other versions of this
game released at home; I know of an Apple II version and one for
the Atari 2600, at least. Both are hard to find. The rumor among
those who collect "real" arcade games is that AB machines were
not all that reliable to begin with and may be rare as a result.
TRIVIA : See Adventure Land for comments on a plug-in speech device made
for the Vic20. Anyone want to re-add speech to this game using it?
COMMENTS : Twenty-eight continuous shots until your laser overheats, for
those of you who are counting. (Hee, hee!) Can't play this game
like it was Raiden, that's for sure! It was a whole other era,
then. Sierra, by the way, was one of the first companies to get
out games in 1981; only UMI and Commodore jumped in that early.
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GAME NAME: Tomarc the Barbarian
COMPANY : Xonox
AUTHOR : unknown (198_)
GAME TYPE: Original dungeon game, ported to many platforms.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Rather crudely done. Looks just like a port from the Atari 2600.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : Rather tedious and boring, without the instructions. I doubt it
is much better even with them. Not that I'll play this game long
to make sure! It's multi-screen, so it might be fairly "deep"
(pardon the dungeon pun) if you're willing to spend the effort?
OVERALL : There are much better dungeon games, in my humble opinion. Try a
game of Pharoah's Curse or Tutankham instead, for instance.
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GAME NAME: Tooth Invaders
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1938]
AUTHOR : unknown (1983)
GAME TYPE: Arcade / educational game, teaching kids to brush and floss.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Very simple and somewhat blocky, but they do the job OK.
SOUND : Average or better. The sounds are pretty cute all in all. It fits.
GAMEPLAY : Fun enough for kids or when you want a fairly non-stressful game.
OVERALL : Too bad this came out late in Commodore's scheme of things. It's
a better game than some of their earlier efforts were, and a bit
more original, too. (It wasn't *that* original, though, what with
Activision's "Plaque Attack" game for the Atari 2600.)
AD TEXT : "Prevent tooth decay and battle D.K. Germ using your toothbrush
and dental floss. A great arcade / educational game." (Seen on
page 104 of the Spring 1983 issue of "Commodore Power Play")
TRIVIA : This cart is unusual in a number of subtle ways. It is rarer than
some by Commodore, as it came out when the Vic was being replaced
by Commodore's C64 computer. But its release date (1983) preceeds
the release dates of carts that came after it, numerically. In
other words, #1939 / "Star Post" is dated as 1982. Wow. Weird. Or
typical Commodore thinking ... take your pick! I suspect this is
really a 1983 game, and the others were simply backdated.
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GAME NAME: Topper
COMPANY : Romox Inc. (Apparently made by TJS Industries)
AUTHOR : Tim Schmidt (1983)
GAME TYPE: Variant of the arcade game "Q*bert".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Good or better. Cute effects here and there, and nothing detracts.
SOUND : Average or better. Decent attempt at a catchy tune.
GAMEPLAY : A largely cute and fun copy of Q*bert's gameplay, with some twists
like tiles that disappear at times. Can be fun on its own merits.
OVERALL : See gameplay. Q*bert on this system was such a disappointment that
I'm tempted to tell you to play this instead. At least more often!
COMMENTS : If you are playing the game under an emulated Vic20 system you may
have trouble playing this game. (If you're using keyboard controls
to emulate a joystick.) This is because you are using only diagonal
controls throughout the game; in other words, two buttons each,
pressed simultaneously, for each individual time you move around.
To move left and up, you have to actually press both those keys.
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GAME NAME: Track & Field
COMPANY : Atari
AUTHOR : unknown (198_)
GAME TYPE: Vaporware. (Translation of the arcade coin-op game.)
TRIVIA : This title may have been written by a Greg Hightower. A fan of
the TI-99/4A system gave Ward a URL to a web site he made, that
claims this title and two others were written by his company.
(See also "Donkey Kong Jr." and "Jungle Hunt".)
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GAME NAME: Trashman
COMPANY : Creative Software
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Clone of the arcade coin-op classic "Pac Man".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick or keyboard controlled.
GRAPHICS : Good. Smallish player characters. However, the maze is larger
because of it. This is a good trade-off as far as I'm concerned.
SOUND : Good. Not a clone of PacMan's sounds, which I feel is refreshing.
The "game over" funeral dirge sound effect is a nice touch!
GAMEPLAY : A fun and addictive game; what more can you ask? (Higher levels
are close to the speed level I prefer for a Pac Man clone.)
OVERALL : Quite good. Anyone who likes Pac Man should be happy with this.
REVIEW : "...If Trashman sounds a lot like another well-known maze game,
well, that's probably because there are an awful lot of simil-
arities. But, nevertheless, it's a fine game. The graphics are
very good and the setting is colorful. So if you own a Vic20 and
you like to play maze games, this one's for you." (Seen in Dec83
issue of Electronic Games, page 86. Review by Charlene Komar.)
COMMENTS : If anyone out there ever decides to do a better job on Pac Man
than the official Atari version, consider using this game as a
starting point. You could do much worse.
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GAME NAME: Turmoil
COMPANY : Sirius Software, Inc.
AUTHOR : See Trivia. (1982)
GAME TYPE: Shoot-em-up.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Good. Simple shapes and lines, but colorful and clearly defined.
SOUND : Average or better.
GAMEPLAY : Good grief! This is almost *too* quickly paced... and I like fast
games as a general rule! But it never struck me as being unfair
or arbitrary; when you die, its simply because you're not fast
enough, not because the game just decided to cheat.
OVERALL : This is probably required training for anyone who's ever wondered
what it would be like to "go postal" with a machine gun. (Except
that this way is more socially approved, thank you very much.) The
game must be in the top 10 "quickest game over" rankings, IMO. Try
it out on an emulated Vic20 using a fast Pentium, if you doubt it!
REVIEW : Reviewed on page 162 of the October 1983 issue of "Compute!".
TRIVIA : Box says game was "Designed by Mark Turmell" but programmed by
Jay Jones. (Says that the C64 version is also by Jay Jones.)
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GAME NAME: Turtle Graphics
COMPANY : HES (Human Engineered Software) [C303]
AUTHOR : David Malmberg (1982)
GAME TYPE: Utility / educational title.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions.
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GAME NAME: Tutankham
COMPANY : Parker Brothers
AUTHOR : unknown (1983)
GAME TYPE: Translation of arcade coin-op game "Tutankham".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick. Disable Bank 1 if present.
GRAPHICS : Nicely done, with a good sense of finished "polish" throughout.
SOUND : Good. The Vic limits it, but only a little.
GAMEPLAY : Just in case the rest of the game isn't putting enough pressure on
you, the game itself is timed. Lots to do. Plenty to watch out for.
OVERALL : One of the better games, overall. Deep and varied, but balanced.
REVIEW : "Those who've tired of the predictable adventuring and lack of
action in such early 2600 titles as Adventure and Haunted House
from Atari, will undoubtedly find Tutankham one of the most
pleasant surprises of 1983. This game has all the flavor an
adventure fan could want -- secret passages, puzzles, and strat-
egic use of an allotment of three lives and three laser flares
(capable of destroying all enemy creatures within the area). Since
it also offers all the action devotees of, say, Wizard of Wor
might ever crave, Tut is perhaps Parker's best entry since
Frogger! ...This is a real nail-biting, compulsive piece of game
playing.... Tutankham may be a few letters short, but there's
very little missing here. This is a fine simulation of the arcade
cult favorite and you'll soon be surprised at just how addictive
this contest can become." (Seen in Electronic Games, Dec 83, page
60. Review by Bill Kunkel. Game reviewed was for the Atari 2600.)
TRIVIA : A review in the Dec 83 issue of Electronic Games (page 60) says
that the game title was originally to be "Tutankhamen". However,
"the last two letters didn't fit on the arcade casing!?"
TRIVIA : The arcade original was a 1982 Stern game, licensed from Konami.
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GAME NAME: Type Attack
COMPANY : Sirius
AUTHOR : See Trivia. (1982)
GAME TYPE: Edutainment; teaches you to type while playing a shooting game.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Keyboard.
GRAPHICS : Not really fancy, but well done. Resembles Space Invaders.
SOUND : Good. I especially like the little funeral dirge when you die.
GAMEPLAY : They did a lot with a simple (and somewhat limiting) concept.
The balance between single character skills and entire words was
a nice touch both for the educational and the gameplay elements.
OVERALL : Probably educational (teaches touch typing skills), but also fun.
TRIVIA : Let the title screen run a while and it will tell you "SIRIUS
GIVES YOU TYPE ATTACK BY ERNIE BROCK AND JIM HAUSER" then it also
adds "FAST ACTION TYPING FUN" to desribe itself. Isn't that cute?
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GAME NAME: Typo
COMPANY : Romox
AUTHOR : See Trivia (1983)
GAME TYPE: Educational game; used to practice & improve your typing skills.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Keyboard.
GRAPHICS : Not bad. The screen layout is nice, and everything is easy to
see. The colors go well with each other. Nice little death scene!
(A bulldozer comes by and pushes your carcass off the screen.)
SOUND : Average. Nothing too fancy, but it works well enough.
GAMEPLAY : Cute. Picture a Pac-Man maze, with only one ghost to chase your
onscreen character. Now add in that your character only runs as
fast as you can type... maybe not too original, but cute anyway.
OVERALL : I liked it. It has an overall "cute" feeling to it. It seemed to
me that the designers wanted you to enjoy the experience; this is
apparent throughout many facets of the game, including some of
the phrases you have to type in. It's playful, in a gentle way.
TRIVIA : A scrolling message in the program says that TJS Industries did
the actual programming for Romox. It says Tim Schmidt designed it.
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GAME NAME: Vic FORTH
COMPANY : HES (Human Engineered Software) Licensed from Datatronic. [C301]
AUTHOR : See Trivia. (1982)
GAME TYPE: Utility program. An implementation of the FORTH computer language.
REQUIRED : 8k in bank 5. Keyboard.
REVIEW : Reviewed in the October 1983 issue of Compute; see page 154.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions.
TRIVIA : Internal messages at $bf67 say "PETER BENGTSON 1982".
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GAME NAME: Vic Music Composer
COMPANY : Thorn EMI [THC 22002]
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Educational.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Keyboard.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions.
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GAME NAME: Vic Rabbit
COMPANY : Eastern House
AUTHOR : unknown (198_)
GAME TYPE: Utility program. An accelerator for your datasette.
REQUIRED : Unknown, as we haven't found one to archive just yet.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you'll need the original instructions. And
you might need the original cart, as well? (See also "Arrow".)
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GAME NAME: Vic-20 Atari Cartridge Adapter
COMPANY : Unsure; see ad text below.
AUTHOR : Unsure; see ad text below.
GAME TYPE: Vaporware. Ads came out, but no one has ever actually seen one.
AD TEXT : "Atari Cartridge Adapter for the Vic20 -- Allows game cartridges
designed for use on Atari video game machines to be used on a
Vic 20 computer. Produced in cooperation with the Computer Works
of Phoenix." (New Product release seen in "Commodore Power Play"
magazine, Spring 1983 issue, page 99.)
AD TEXT : "Fantastic!! VIC 20 tm COMPUTER WILL PLAY ATARI GAME CARTRIDGES
when you plug in our GAME LOADER! Wow!! Now you can play all Atari
game cartridges on your 'VIC-20 tm Computer.' Atari VCS cartridge
video games, Activision, Imagic, M-Network cartridges will all
play on your 'VIC-20 tm Computer,' when you use our new 'GAME-
LOADER' plus you get fantastic VIC-20 tm sound and graphics. List
price $99.00 Sale $89.00 (Includes Free ATARI Game $32.50 List)"
(Ad from Protecto, in the Spring 1983 issue of "Commodore Power
Play" magazine, on page 103.)
AD TEXT : Also advertised in some 1983 issues of "The Torpet" magazine,
which was an "independent commodore user's magazine" put out by
the Toronto Pet Users Group, or TPUG. Ad text reads: "NEW.
Introducing... Cardapter 1. Explore a new galaxy of enter-
tainment pleasure with your Vic-20 computer. Designed by:
The Computer Works. Manufactured and Distributed by: Cardco, Inc"
They do not show the device itself in the ad. Instead, they show
a box that says "NEW. Cardapter 1. Play Atari Cartridge Games On
Your Vic-20." Some small print at the bottom of the page says
"Dealer inquiries invited", and it lists addresses to contact in
Kansas (the US), West Canada, England & Europe, and East Canada.
COMMENTS : This is sort of the "Holy Grail" of Vic20 Vaporware, so far. Tons
of expensive looking ads appeared for a while, but no person or
magazine seems to have seen any actual hardware, just the ads...
If you are into heavy masochism, err, I mean collecting rare and
hard-to-track-down items, this is your mission. If not, it makes
*much* more sense to plop down a few bucks at a yard sale for a
real Atari 2600 system. (Radio Shack may still be selling them
commercially via mail order, too?) Or better yet, find yourself a
working Atari 7800 unit. It plays Atari 2600 *and* 7800 games.
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GAME NAME: Video Vermin
COMPANY : UMI (United Microware Industries, Inc.) [1638]
AUTHOR : Mike Wacker (1982)
GAME TYPE: Clone of arcade coin-op "Centipede".
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick. Disable bank 1 if present.
GRAPHICS : Good. A pretty recognizable attempt at Centipede's graphics.
SOUND : Average.
GAMEPLAY : Excellent! Very fast paced. Joystick control a bit sloppy, tho.
I haven't tried it with a trackball controller yet, but I will
eventually. This is one of my favorites... on any gaming system!
OVERALL : I like this clone better than I like the "official" Centipede, or
even the arcade version. Hardly a purist point of view; for shame!
TRIVIA : See also UMI's 16k version of Centipede, called Arachnoid. It is
possible that this is a radically cut-down version of that game,
although it doesn't show up in the gameplay if you ask me. Coded
messages inside VV code indicate that its name may have once been
Bug Attack. This could have been a working title only, however.
Something happened; there seems to be elements common to both.
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GAME NAME: Videomania
COMPANY : Creative Software
AUTHOR : Tom E. Griner (1982)
GAME TYPE: Original shooting game.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
GRAPHICS : Simple graphics with some nice visual effects touches added.
SOUND : Good. Nice rendition of "The entertainer" song, within Vic limits.
GAMEPLAY : Almost flawed in its simplicity. Just run around a single screen,
chasing and avoiding monsters that you shoot at. Lacks something.
Then again, many of the console games were this way all the time.
OVERALL : One of Mr. Griner's earlier works. His later games were better...
and bigger. This is a 4k game, although it requires 8k to run.
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GAME NAME: Visible Solar System
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1930]
AUTHOR : unknown (1982)
GAME TYPE: Educational. Explore the science of Astronomy.
REQUIRED : 8k RAM in bank 5. Joystick.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
really use this cart, you may need the original instructions.
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GAME NAME: Voodoo Castle Adventure
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-1918]
AUTHOR : Alexis Adams (1981)
GAME TYPE: "Scott Adams Adventure Games" series. (#4 of 5.)
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 2 and 3). Keyboard controlled.
The game starts when you type "SYS 32592" and hit the RETURN key.
AD TEXT : "Count Christo has a fiendish curse put on him by his enemies.
There he lies, and you are his only hope. Can you rescue him, or
is he forever doomed? (Beware of the voodoo man!)" (Seen in the
Spring 1983 issue of "Commodore Power Play" on page 105.)
TRIVIA : Text ad inside the game: "ask for ADVENTURE 5, -THE COUNT- at your
favorite dealer. It will be LOVE AT FIRST BYTE!" Sort of cute in
itself, I think: bad "byte" jokes ran rampant way back when. The
text went on to say the game was "dedicated to all moms"; cute.
COMMENTS : See the entry for Adventure Land Adventure for more information
on any of the games in this series.
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GAME NAME: Wizard of Wor
COMPANY : Commodore [Vic-19__]
AUTHOR : unknown (198_)
GAME TYPE: Vaporware, until we find one to archive and review. It would have
been a port of the 1981 Bally/Midway arcade game "Wizard of Wor".
COMMENTS : The entries for this game were originally far too long. I've kept
some here, and did a lot of condensing on the rest. (I had lots
of notes, both pro and con, on the subject. Considering how huge
the rest of this document is already, what's here is plenty!)
Until more definite information comes to light, this is all just
speculation. The author is contacting some of Commodore's own
original programmers, hopefully for more definite answers. But
guesses are the nature of such titles until a copy is discovered.
The questions raised here may help answer questions about other
titles companies once planned, maybe started, and with any luck,
hopefully completed but never released ... up until now? (Such
things have been known to happen on other retrogaming machines!)
Even if we just match Vic-19xx part numbers to titles, that is
something, and worth the effort and space in my opinion, so here
goes nothing....
FACT : Please note that four part numbers are currently blank or empty,
in Commodore's Vic20 numerical part number series. (And that is
assuming the series ends with #1941. Were any carts ever planned
beyond that?) The missing numbers are: 1903, 1934, 1936 and 1940.
RUMOR : One retro-gamer swears he saw "Wizard of Wor" listed in some sort
of ad or brochure from Commodore many years ago. That person said
he kept waiting for the game to come out, but he never found a
copy of the game. He said that it definitely had a Commodore part
number listed (Vic-19xx), but he could not remember which it was.
FACT : There were other arcade conversions done then from Bally/Midway
that were as old as "Wizard of Wor" was in the arcades, toward
the end of the Vic20's life. Vic-1931 or "Clowns" was a late '70s
release, according to the "Killer List Of Videogames". Vic-1937
or "Sea Wolf" was a 1975 arcade release. (Both these games most
definitely were converted and mass-produced.) Commodore referred
then to these older B/M games as "arcade classics" in their ads.
RUMOR : As I stated (online) some time ago, I suspect that this series of
"arcade classics" was part of a settlement Commodore made with
Bally/Midway, to avoid in-court prosecution for earlier copyright
infringements. The breakdown seemed to me to be one ported arcade
classic for each two original Vic20 carts Commodore released. If
Commodore was forced to, they'd have more incentive to release
these older games, even if they felt their prime years had passed.
FACT : Commodore did release a WoW cartridge for their C64 computer.
It even "talked", much like the arcade version did, but only if
you had a device called the "Magic Voice" attached. (Jeff Bruette
programmed it. Its speech phrases were printed in the Winter 1983
issue of Commodore Power Play, on page 40). C64 Gorf also talks.
RUMOR : In my opinion, and also that of magazines at the time, Commodore
was trying to kill off their Vic20 market, to allow their new C64
to grab its market share and then some. So it would have made some
sense, marketing-wise, to only release WoW for the Commodore 64.
RUMOR : But then again, a person could argue that maybe the speech option
was only for the C64; that a non-speech one could exist for Vic20
without hurting the C64's market? (Or that Commodore didn't do
things that made sense very often, so why bother using any logic?)
RUMOR : Recent online interviews, conducted by Rick Melick, seem to back
up the idea that WoW was just dropped, sometime near the end of
the Vic20's life, when the C64 was beginning to take its market.
Andy Finkel, one of Commodore's original Vic20 programmers, seems
to remember this being the case. (But he seems to have forgotten
the details, so perhaps even he could be mistaken?) However, this
pushes WoW out of the rumorware category; an insider did confirm
it was once a real project that Commodore was working on!
QUESTIONS : Commodore apparently intended to release more arcade classics by
Bally/Midway, late in the Vic20's life. But what other one(s) did
Commodore plan to make? And how far did they get on each of them?
(Would this info be listed in EG's old "Software Encyclopedia"?)
Do any ex-Commodore employees have copies of unreleased games?
Finished or not, it would be an interesting piece of history! And
are there some undiscovered treasures sitting out there, waiting
for someone with a passion for the Vic20 to find them? I guess we
won't know for sure until more sources of information surface....
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GAME NAME: Wordcraft 20
COMPANY : UMI (United Microware Industries, Inc.) [16__]
AUTHOR : P. L. Dowson (1982)
GAME TYPE: Utility program; word processor.
REQUIRED : 16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5). Joystick.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
use this cart, you'll need the original instructions, maybe more.
REVIEW : "Wordcraft 20 includes a page capacity of 55 lines of 99 charac-
ters, page format commands, automatic line centering, text
highlighting, and tab stops. The program has automatic word wrap
to eliminate broken words at the ends of lines. A demonstration
tape is provided with the program. The cartridge, which sells for
$149.95, contains the 16K Wordcraft program on ROM chips. Word-
craft 20 Plus, which sells for $199.95, includes an additional
8K of memory. Documents created with the program can be stored
on either tape or disk." (Press release in Compute's Gazette,
Aug 83, page 101.)
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GAME NAME: Write Now!
COMPANY : Cardco
AUTHOR : unknown (198_)
GAME TYPE: Utility program; word processor.
REQUIRED : Unknown, as we don't have one archived as yet.
COMMENTS : Not given a very thorough review due to its non-game nature. To
use this cart, you'll need the original instructions, maybe more.
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End of this section of "CARTZILA!"
(See the other three sections or the
full document for more information.)
http://members.aol.com/wshrake/index.htm