PrinceWatercress plays Stampede - Part 2 of 2

In this entry, I play Games 5-8, which are full-speed versions of Games 1-4. I did better than I expected, honestly.

First | End

Games 5-8 are just like Games 1-4, except all of these game modes start off at full speed and never slow down.

Game 5 - "Top Hand" - is the full-speed version of Game 1, "Sidekick." The cattle will move along, and the game will get faster the longer you go. The dark red Herefords (brown cattle) show up first, then the light brown Jerseys (yellow cattle), followed by the medium brown Guernseys (orange cattle). From there, you'll get either a cow skull or a Black Angus, depending on what showed up last. The game starts with a cow skull, then gives you the black angus, and switches between them whenever you go through the cattle spawning pattern.

Game 6 - "Trail Boss" - is the full-speed version of Game 2, "Pilgrim." The dogies move up and down slightly on the screen. This can make them a little harder to catch at times.

Game 7 - "Rancher" - is the full-speed version of Game 3, "Cowpoke." There is no set pattern as to which types of dogies appear when. You can get two black angus in a row - maybe even three - and the brown-yellow-orange spawn pattern is completely gone and any kind of cattle can show up. You'll have to pay attention if you want to use the same strategy that was mentioned earlier.

Game 8 - "Cattle Baron" - is the full-speed Game 4 - "Wrangler." Games 2 and 3 are combined, and the game starts as fast as it can go. The dogies move up and down like in Game 2, and you have no set pattern that determines which type of cattle appear when like in Game 3.

Games 5-8 are there in case you need more difficult versions of Games 1-4, and if you can get good with these game modes, then you can really play this game like a pro.

As for the difficulty switches, B (novice) lengthens the rope, while A (expert) shortens the rope. While a shorter rope has a shorter range, you don't have to wait as long to get moving again.

So how does this game stack up? The game isn't bad, but it gets better when you figure out how to play it and get used to how the game flows. Once you get that nailed down, you'll be scoring in this game like never before, even if there are still times where the game can end very suddenly due to so many cattle straggling behind at once within the span of a few seconds. Thankfully, everything is easily identifiable when you're looking at the screen, and even though the cowboy on the horse can move a little slow, you eventually get used to it once you spend enough time with the game. Stampede may not be the most recognizable or famous game from Activision for the Atari 2600, but it's definitely worth taking for a spin.