PrinceWatercress plays Spider-Man for Atari 2600

Like so many other people, I was introduced to this game via the Angry Video Game Nerd. Amazingly, the game isn't that bad.

Longplay

The Green Goblin is terrorizing New York City and has planted superbombs all over New York City. It's up to Spider-Man to climb up the buildings, get to the superbombs and defuse them before running out of web fluid and falling to his death.

Controlling Spider-Man is easy. By holding Up on the joystick and holding the fire button, you can extend a web further up the building. You can only grab onto the building itself, and you won't be able to connect to any empty spaces or windows. You can also hold Up and Left or Up and Right while holding the button to go to the side and get to other parts of the building in order to stay alive and keep a grip on the building. Once you stop the web on a solid surface, hold Up on the joystick to pull yourself upwards.

Your score is at the top center of the screen, with your lives at the lower-left and your web fluid meter on the lower-right. At the bottom of the building, there are criminals looking out of the windows, and if you touch them while swinging to the side, you'll get a few points for your score as well as some extra web fluid, which you can keep track of at the lower-right corner. The web fluid acts more like a timer, however, and you'll need to get to the top of the building and defuse the superbomb quickly.

You'll only be able to get point and time bonuses from catching criminals about four times before you stop getting them, and if you catch too many criminals, you'll start hearing a low-pitched sound that indicates that the timer on the superbomb has been activated...so be careful.

As you go higher up, you'll start seeing what look like girders. This is the high voltage tower, and the tower will get more narrow the further up you go. It makes more sense to climb onto bigger surfaces than small ones, and you'll want to get used to the timing of when you let go of the fire button as you climb upwards. Doing that will make a big difference between grabbing onto a solid surface and plunging to your doom. If you start falling, you'll still be able to save yourself if you still have web fluid. Just shoot the web like normal and make sure the web line hits a solid surface.

As you climb up the building, you'll see bombs that will flash red before exploding. The explosions will cause you to fall, but if you can touch the bombs while swinging to the side before they blow up, you can defuse them and get points and time for it, and you'll get more if the bombs are flashing red. You'll also run into the Green Goblin, and if you come into contact with him in any way, you will get knocked down and you will be forced to stick back onto the building to recover. 

At the top of the building is a box with a checkerboard pattern. This is the superbomb. You'll need to move into it from the side in such a way that Spider-Man touches it, but his web does not. Just like with everything else, if Spider-Man's body touches something that isn't Green Goblin, you'll score points, but if the web you're shooting does, you'll fall down. Getting Spider-Man to touch the superbomb in any way before you run out time/web fluid will defuse the superbomb and send you to the next level.

You'll score points for when you catch criminals and defuse bombs, and the more you do in a level, the more points you'll get when you defuse the superbomb. It takes 10,000 points to earn an extra life, and you'll need to learn how to get points to make this easier to do and also a lot more fun.

If you hit the ground from any height, you will lose a life no matter what. While you can recover by shooting a web shot and having it stop on the building so you can pull yourself up, if you run out of time/web fluid, there is going to be nothing that you can do, and you'll be forced to start the level over. Be ready to do what you need to do.

As you progress from level to level, the buildings will get taller and taller, and the time/web fluid meter will empty faster and faster. The game is easy to play, but it gets difficult to master, especially when you get onto later levels. Green Goblin will show up before you reach the top of the building, the criminals get harder to nab, and getting to the top gets harder. For some reason, I was able to manage a run that got me halfway up the fourth building before I ran out of lives on the longplay. That's something.

The very first Spider-Man game was a simple affair, but beneath the arcade action lies a game that forces you to strategize. You can get some extra web fluid early on, but it gets much harder to do the further to get, and learning how to quickly climb a building becomes a must. Learning how to recover quickly so you don't have to recover a lot of progress also becomes a necessary skill, especially when you start having so little time to get to the superbomb. As mentioned before, the game is easy to learn, but difficult to master, and when you can get to the superbomb, you definitely feel like a superhero. While there's not any crime-fighting, there's definitely a lot of saving to do, and you'll be doing that in spades here.

The graphics are basic, but you can easily tell who Spider-Man and Green Goblin are, as they both have the right colors. You don't have to guess what's part of the building and what is not, and once you get the basics nailed down, the gameplay isn't that bad. The sound is as arcade-y as you would expect from a 2600 game, and the musical ditty that plays when you start a new game definitely feels Spider-Man-esque. Later games would have Spidey doing more things, but the thrill of shooting webs, catching criminals and going up a building is captured well in Spider-Man's first video game adventure, and it is definitely one to recommend.

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 8 of 8

In this video, we finally defeat Commander Chew and Badler, and save the islands once and for all.

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Commander Chew

To beat Commander Chew, be ready to fly the moment Commander Chew stops talking. Use the platforms to rest briefly as you continuously fly upwards, and shoot Commander Chew with fireballs whenever you can. If Commander Chew is spinning around towards you, he is invulnerable; wait for him to stop spinning before shooting fireballs at him.

Once you beat Commander Chew, you'll finally face Badler. Avoid him as he springs around, and attack him before he attacks you. He splits into smaller clones and will make more and more clones; avoid all of the Badlers and shoot the real Badler when he stops spinning. If he glows gold, move away from your current position so you don't get zapped by lightning. He can also throw energy balls, but at least he's not invulnerable during the wind-up, so you can still hit him as he throws one.

After you damage Badler enough times, he will blow up like a balloon and bounce around the screen. If he's moving away from you, fire at him as much as possible, and stay away from him whenever he comes towards you. The more you hit Badler, the bigger he gets, and when you hit Badler enough times, a whole bunch of mouse enemies will come out of Badler before he is ultimately defeated. You just beat Punky Skunk!

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 7 of 8

In this video, we take on the remaining levels before the final boss battle against Badler.

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BB Industries

Grab the skates at the start, then be ready to fight your way past a bunch of machines, make a big jump with the skates, then jump on the button and leap from one platform to another as they appear. You'll be fighting off a lot of mice and machines, so be ready to attack with the Square button.

The second section is more straightforward, but the third one has more of the button platform jumping that you were doing in the first one. You'll also have to deal with flying enemies on the way up, so be ready to jump up and attack at approximately the same time just to take out a few of them, especially when the platforms only stay solid for a short amount of time.

The fourth section has more platforming above a bottomless pit, but at least it goes from left to right. The fifth section has a moving ceiling, but thankfully, it does not crush you. It does make it harder to avoid the baseball pitchers and their attacks, however. Give them some room so you don't get hit a lot.

In the sixth section, grab the skates and keep them equipped so you can jump on the enemies' heads and get across. For the seventh section, you'll be avoiding rolling wheels as you skate and jump to the right. This section gets a little easier once you're halfway through.

In the eight section, the right wall keeps moving back and forth, and once again, you'll have to watch out for those dreaded baseball pitchers. Once you reach the top, you'll reach the goal.

Oh Nash!

You'll finally find Nash...only to find out he's been brainwashed by the BB Brigade and wearing a jetpack. He'll fly around and try to hit you, but if you can get him in front of you and mash the Square button, you can keep attacking him with the skunk spray attack and he'll just stay there and keep taking damage. He does have attacks, such as a fireball shot, but if you keep him stunlocked, you'll never see them. Once you beat Nash, Nash will come to his senses and you'll get the jetpack. You can press and hold X to rocket into the air, but if you hear a knocking sound of sorts, the jetpack it about to stop working. If you land anywhere, the timer on the jetpack will reset, and you'll be able to use it again.

Wolf Base

Aeroskunk

The level will immediately scroll upwards when you start. Keep pressing and holding X to fly, and make sure you land on platforms when you can to reset your jetpack timer, because the scrolling is pretty fast. Press Square to fire fireballs at enemies to get rid of them. This is not a long stage, but it can be a bit difficult due to the speed of the automatic scrolling.

Galaxy Glider

This level is a series of sections that go in one direction. You'll want to tap the X button in short bursts instead of holding it in order to get through the sections quickly.

In the second section, you're going upwards. Rest on the yellow cloud platforms to reset the jetpack, and get off them when they turn red. In the third section, you have a huge group of air currents that create one big maze, but you can tell where the air currents are going to push you. Once again, remember to tap X to fly upwards in short bursts, and land on platforms often while going against the current when necessary.

In the third section, you'll want to stay away from the air currents, as they will push you away from the level.

In the fourth section, you'll have the mice on ostriches throwing spears. Avoid the spears, even when they're on the ground, so you don't take damage. Thankfully, this section is the last one in the stage.

Skywolf Alpha

Skywolf Alpha is one big maze that relies extensively on the jetpack. The stars that you see littered around the level will tell you where to go, so keep them in mind if you're unsure where to go. You'll need them in the first section, as you'll be going around in a complete circle without them. If you find any safe spots to land, use them; you'll want to be able to fly to where you need to, when you need to.

In the second section, you'll be zig-zagging your way to the top while landing in the safe spots and shooting down the enemies on the off chance that they drop health pick-ups.

For the third section, follow the stars closely. You'll want to follow them so you can go through an air current; otherwise, you're doing the whole stage over, as the first and third sections are part of the same room in the stage. Go up and to the right once you're past the air current that the stars lead you to, then take out the green machine and land where it was. From there, follow the stars up and to the right and follow the path to the goal.

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 6 of 8

In this entry, we clear the last of the mini-games. It's smooth sailing from here on in.

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Slope Slidin'

Now to look for that mini-game!

When you reach the goal, don't end the level. Instead, head to the left and drop straight down from the edge. From here, you'll want to use the skates to jump to the right. You'll find the candle hiding the pedal mini-game at the end.

If you've completed a stage and would like to leave it after playing it again, just press Select. You don't even need to pause the game; just press Select and you're outta there. If you beat the mini-game and got the red crystal for it, you can just do this and it's back to the world map with reward in tow.

Quick Draw

It's time for another boss battle. This time, it's more like a reflex-based mini-game than anything else. If you see a picture of Punky, press Square to fire. If you see a picture of Commander Chew, press X to defend. (Do not fire if you see Chew's picture; you will not fire first and you will take a hit. The first person to score eight hits wins. You get slightly less time to defend than you do to attack, so be careful.

Mount Wolf

Wolf Blitzin'

Watch out for the enemies; they're going to be everywhere at the start. Don't forget to grab the pogo stick at the beginning of the stage so you can loop to the upper-left corner of the stage.

In the second section, you'll be in a bit of a maze. The path is straightforward, but you don't want to drop down near the beginning. Along the way, there is a pit with a paraglider in it; grabbing it and floating to the left takes you to a slot machine mini-game. Thankfully, this is the very last one, and fortunately for me, I get four Punkys on the first try.

Windy City

Grab the paraglider, then move past the baseball pitchers and be ready to glide into the air currents. If you need to, move against the current to stop yourself from flying right into spiked walls.

The mini-game is below the yellow platforms that raise up; just before you reach the air currents that push you upwards. You'll need to float to it with the paraglider; and thankfully, it's a matching mini-game. Once you complete this mini-game, you won't have to play any more of them, because this is the last one! If you've beaten all the mini-games, you'll be at maximum health for the rest of the game!

For the second section, you'll be dealing with conveyor belts, but it's easy to tell where they're going if you look at the treads on them. Don't forget that both you and the enemies can jump through the bottoms of the conveyor belts...especially those dreaded baseball pitchers. The green machines spit out projectiles, but that means more potential pick-ups if you need them.

In the third section, you'll have the little mice in the balls coming back with a vengeance. Just jump towards the worm-like heads of the platforms, then fly up the air currents with the paraglider to get to the goal.

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 5 of 8

In this entry, we almost wrap up two worlds in one video. How about that?

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Sugar Rush Hour

There are multiple paths that you can take through the stage. You'll always find the skates at the beginning of each one. Equip them when you need to make a long jump and unequip them when you don't.

The small green stick with the blue top is a button you can jump on. It will activate sets of platforms that you'll need to jump across quickly.

Keep jumping on the spinning cylinders to stay on them, and avoid the spikes.

The yellow platforms rise up a bit before finally coming down.

The rolling guys take one hit to defeat, but they can be pretty fast and they can overwhelm you if given the chance to do so.

Pedal Paddle

It's time for another boss battle, and this time, you and Commander Chew are racing each other on pedal boats. You'll need to keep mashing the Square button while pressing X to jump over the mines. You'll want to jump over the mines in such a way that you not only clear the mines, but also the explosions that result when you attempt to get over them.

There are signs at the bottom that tell you how much distance you have left until you reach the goal. You'll stop seeing mines at the "100" sign, so once you see it, start mashing Square like your life depends on it. If you win, you go on to Alpine Isle. If you lose, you lose a life and you have to do this short yet slightly frustrating race all over again until you succeed.

Alpine Isle

Crevasse Chaos

The mice in the sugar gliders take two hits, but if you hit them at the right distance, you can hit them twice with your regular skunk spray attack after you knock them back on the first hit. The paraglider makes it easier to bop them on the head in case you want to sail through the first section of the level.

The second section introduces the baseball pitchers that move up and down as they spin. When they stop spinning, they will be vulnerable, and you can attack them. As for the vertical drops, just glide down slowly with the paraglider and you'll be fine.

You'll eventually get your hands on the digging claws again. Take out any and all enemies as you get to the goal. If you head back to the beginning of the level while underground, you'll find an extra life.

Frost Forest

In the first section, you'll need to get the pogo stick and bounce up the trees while taking out the forest blobs and the mice. You'll want to use the pogo stick as much as you can, since you won't be missing much and the entrance to the next section will be at the top, anyway.

In the second section, you'll need to use the pogo stick again, and you'll also need to watch out for the cloud platforms that will shock you. As for the green and yellow platforms with the arms and legs, make sure you're on the edge of them when you jump forward...including the yellow one. You'll need to use the pogo stick to move forward from that platform, and it took me a few tries.

In the third section, you have more trees and more platforms that will fall. This section is shorter compared to the first two, and you'll need to go around the level clockwise not just to get to the exit, but to get to the bonus area. Left of the "In" portal is another candle with a mini-game warp, which leads to another Captain Flag mini-game. Thankfully, this section is short, and you can get back to the exit to the next section relatively quickly.

In the fourth section, get the skates and quickly make your way down. You can use the skates to take out the ball enemies. Just remember to get on the ramp at the bottom and jump to the right so you can get to the goal.

Slope Slidin'

There is a mini-game here, but I didn't know it was there when I made this video. I get it at the beginning of the next one.

Get the skysurfer. It will make it easier to rush through the level. After that, you can get the skates, although you won't necessarily need them. There are a lot of mouse enemies here, but they can easily be defeated. As long as you make your way to the right, you'll easily get to the goal.

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 4 of 8

In this entry, we have even more digging to do before continuing into Jubilee Town.

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Pathgrinder III

Yep, it's time for more digging. Grab the diggers, wreck the enemies, avoid the spikes, and take detours into dead ends for pick-ups. You'll be able to see pick-ups in the sand if you're paying attention. You'll also want to destroy the drill tank spawners as quickly as possible, especially in the second section, because the spawners and the drill tanks are not going to be kind.

There is a colored icon instead of a monochrome icon in one of the walls at the beginning of the second section, and if you walk into it, you'll find out that it's indicating that the wall is a false one. Keep heading left and jumping over the spikes, then destroy the candle to warp to a mini-game. It's another pedal mini-game. You should know what to do by now.

At the start of the second section, quickly attack the drill tank spawners from above. Your claw will somehow hit them, and you can take out the tanks before they become a problem. 

Castle Hassle

Get the skates at the beginning. You'll need them to jump across the conveyor belt platforms. Make sure that when you transform and take the skates on or off, you do it in mid-air so you aren't whisked off the platform when you regain control of Punky.

The robot hands shooting yo-yos can easily be attacked.

The enemies that drop down on the ropes return from the beginning of the rope, and they can't touch you while you're on the conveyor belt platforms in the second section as long as you don't jump into them.

Volley Boss

It's time to take on Commander Chew again, and this time, it's in a game of volleyball.

Press Square to hit the volleyball the moment it is above you to send it back...not a second sooner, not a second later. The moment you start the ball hitting animation is when you will hit the ball. You'll score a point when you hit the ball so that it lands on the floor. If it goes out of bounds, the other person scores a point. Not surprisingly, Chew kept hitting it out of bounds during the battle. The first person to score eight points wins. 

Jubilee Town

Chew Ninjas

Grab the paraglider and use it to ride with the currents while bouncing off the enemies.

Be careful with the cloud platforms; while you can stand on them, you'll want to jump into the air when they start producing electricity so you don't get hit and potentially knocked off. They will turn blue before they shock you.

At the upper-right corner of the first section, there is a candle to destroy for a mini-game. Guess what? It's the slot machine mini-game again. This time, I managed to luck out and get four Punkys on the first try, so that's another red crystal in the collection.

The second section brings out the titular ninjas. They hide in the background, come out to throw a shuriken, then hide again. You can only attack them when they're attacking. Also, the spikes in this section are transparent and can be a little difficult to notice at times, so stay away from the walls in the more narrow parts of the section.

Rainbow Dome

Grab the skysurfer and use it to go up and down the slopes, mowing down the enemies as you go. Some of the enemies will run after you and constantly roll snowballs at you, but you can destroy the snowballs in addition to the enemies themselves.

There is a mini-game if you take the low road after the huge slope leading downwards instead of riding the yellow platform. It leads to a matching mini-game, which is much easier than the slot machine. (You can tell I hate the slot machine.)

The second section has a lot more ground to walk on and is therefore more straightforward than the first one.

PrinceWatercress plays Punky Skunk - Part 3 of 8

In this entry, we finish up the third world and get started on the fourth. The slot machine mini-game makes this take longer than it should.

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Tomb Wader

In this area, you'll be in a pyramid. The shifting sands act much like the water from the fountain level in the previous world, so if you're used to the water there, you'll be able to get around pretty well as you take out enemies flying around the screen on the sailboards. Also, if you explore the level, you might even find a false wall or two that will take you to pick-ups.

There is a candle holding a mini-game entrance in the second section hidden behind a false wall near the goal. Guess what? It's a slot machine mini-game. You're better off getting Punky on the fourth and faster reel first before messing with the other three; it's the only way to ensure that you get the red crystal for a health extension. Not surprisingly, I spend more time than I would like getting the red crystal here, but at least I'm able to stock up on lives. 

As always, you'll want to watch out for the enemies. The mine dropping faucets are back, as well as the mice that are disguised as synchronized swimmers that jump in and out of the sand. 

Sandtraps

You'll be able to get the skysurfer at the beginning of the level. You'll need it to make some of the jumps in this level, and the yellow platform midway through will allow you to get a 1-Up that you see early on. You'll also be able to grab a pogo to replace the skysurfer near the end, but you won't really need it.

There are enemies that throw bowling pins, but they are easy to get rid of if you attack them from a distance.

Near the end, you'll want to head left and walk off the edge to find a candle hiding the mini-game entrance. This time, it's the matching mini-game, which is easier compared to the slot machine mini-game we played in the previous level. Once you get the red crystal for the health extension, you're good to go. Amazingly, once you're done with the mini-game, you're taken back to the 1-Up that was almost midway through the level, and not back to the beginning.

Da Bomb

It's time to face Commander Chew again, and this time, you have another easy boss...if you know what to do. Move the bomb launcher with Left and Right on the D-Pad, and catch the blue bombs with the see-saw like arms while avoiding the red ones. Make sure the bombs don't explode on you. When you catch one bomb, you'll launch it when you catch another. You'll want the bombs that you launch to fly directly into Commander Chew from underneath. Once you hit Commander Chew enough times, it's time to head to the fourth island of the game.

Chewtopia

Treetop Trounce

You'll get the pogo at the beginning of the level, and you'll be needing it to explore the level.

You will sink in the leafy areas of the tree as you stand on them, so watch where you're standing. The pogo will help you save yourself from sinking easily. 

If you can get to the upper-left corner of the level, you can drop down to get a 1-Up.

The green blob enemies will slowly move towards you if you are a certain distance away from them, but they are easily defeated. You'll also have the mouse enemies running around dressed like flower pots, and they can walk off edges to get to you.

To get to the mini-game, you'll need to get the paraglider, then go back and drop down off the left edge as you jump back up and to the left where the pit is. Glide to take the air current to the right, then attack the candle to enter the mini-game and play another round of Captain Flag for a red crystal. Keep in mind that you jump higher with the paraglider equipped, so watch out for those spikes!