Part nostalgia-bomb, part note-taking and part FAQ, what started in GameTrailers as a video game blog is now on Blogger. This blog is a look back at video games, both popular and obscure, from the video game industry's infancy all the way to the previous console generation.
Game 12 is the easiest game variation of all. The robots don't shoot at you, the game gives you an extra life every 1,000 points, and Evil Otto does not show up at all. As a result, this is a very good game mode to play for young children or anyone who is not used to how the game plays.
Game 11 is just like Game 10 in which the robots don't shoot at you and you get an extra life every 1,000 points, but this time, Evil Otto can be shot down and taken out temporarily, making this variation easier than Game 10. But the easiest game mode is yet to come...
Game 10 is a little different. You get an extra life every 1,000 points, but this time, the robots don't shoot at you. Also, Evil Otto is invincible instead of non-existent, breaking the pattern from the other sets of game variations and going in reverse with the Evil Otto appearances. Game 10-12 allows for players to practice with enemies without enemies shooting back.
Game 9 is just like Game 8: the robots shoot and there are no extra lives to help you. Unlike Game 8, however, Evil Otto can't be destroyed. At this point, survival is absolutely essential.
In Game 8, the rules are the same as Game 7 - robots shoot at you and extra lives are completely obtainable - but this time, Evil Otto is involved. It is possible to temporarily get rid of him, but what do you consider choosing...points or safety?
In Game 7, Evil Otto is gone, but the robots will shoot at you. The worst part? There are no extra lives in Game 7. If you lose a life, you lose it for good. Games 7-9 are the "survival modes" of the game, with each successive game variation more difficult than the last. You'll need to play very, very well on this variation as well as Game 8 or Game 9 to get a high score.
We have the same rules for extra lives and shooting robots as in Games 4 and 5 for Game 6, but this time, Evil Otto is invincible. Once again, survival is the main mission.
The next three game variations are going to be the hardest...
In Game 5, Evil Otto is back, but at least you can take him out of the picture temporarily with your bullets. Otherwise, it's the same as Game 4: the robots still shoot at you, and you'll need 2,000 points to get an extra life.
In Game 4, things get a little more interesting. This variation is much like Game 1, except that you'll need to earn 2,000 points to gain an extra life, so you'll need to be a little more careful while getting a high score. At least Evil Otto isn't here.
In Game 3, Evil Otto is invincible. This changes the game even more, as you'll be forced to make decisions once Evil Otto shows up. Do you risk getting the "all robots destroyed" bonus? Or do you get the heck out of there? Either way, you still get an extra life at 1,000. Just don't be surprised if it's slightly harder here.
Game 2 introduces Evil Otto. Evil Otto is a bouncing smiley face that hunts you down from the starting point of the room and does not stop. In some modes, he can be shot down temporarily only to return; in others where he shows up, he is completely invincible. In Game 2, Evil Otto can be shot down, but he will quickly come back. This will make it harder to get the room clearing bonus everywhere you go, but at least you can temporarily stop him.
Now that all of the game variations have been covered, it's time to do a longplay for each one.
These will be spaced out to upload between Let's Plays, so as not to take any time away from future Let's Plays than I would like, so have fun with these when they show up!
The Astro Date is 3200 and you are the last survivor of a small group of earth people who came to explore the planet Mazeon. Soon after landing, you discovered the planet is a dark, apparently uninhabitable place. But by then it was too late to turn back because your space craft had been destroyed by Automazeons.
Now you are a prisoner here. You are trapped in a maze where even the walls are death to touch. Grim robot thugs known as "Automazeons" stalk you relentlessly and you must systematically pulverize them with your laser gun before they eliminate you with theirs.
You are never safe on the planet Mazeon. Even when you've destroyed the mechanical heavies, Evil Otto, the mad and merciless mind behind the robot gangs, leaps out from where he's been observing the battle. You flee in panic because you know that you cannot kill Evil Otto and that, once he catches you, you'll never escape.
He will pound you to a lifeless pulp, grinning like a maniac all the while. Your only hope is to get out of the electrified maze before Evil Otto catches you.
If you do get out, you find yourself in another maze. Again the faceless robots shoot at you, again Evil Otto pursues you, again you must dodge and shoot and run ... into yet another maze. It's enough to drive you bonkers!
The fire button fires a bullet in the last direction you travelled, while the joystick is used to move in eight directions. You can fire in any of the eight directions, including diagonally, in order to take down the robots that slowly hunt you down and fire at you.
Shooting down the robots will obviously give you points, and if you defeat all of the robots in a room before moving on to another one, you'll get some bonus points of top of all that destruction which is bigger the more robots you have to shoot down in a room. You'll get an extra life after getting enough points (which depends on the game variation), and you'll need all the lives you can get for the highest score. You lose a life if you get hit by an enemy laser or by Evil Otto (more on Otto later) or if you run into a wall. Lose all your lives, and the game is over.
There are twelve game variations, and have different rules such as whether or not enemies shoot at you, how many points you need for an extra life (or in some variations, whether you can earn extra lives at all) or if Evil Otto is nonexistent, temporarily stoppable or invincible (again, more on Otto later).
The robots will shoot at you if you are completely lined up with them, and the more rooms you go through, the faster their lasers will be. You'll need to be ready to move as well as have more than enough distance between you and them as you get further into this never-ending game. Interestingly, they don't start shooting at you until you exit your first room, after which the lasers start out slow and get faster and faster as you progress. Unlike the robots, however, you can fire in the four cardinal directions as well as diagonally, allowing you to take some pots shots at the robots when they will least expect them.
As you go through the rooms, the robots will be yellow and go from that color to orange to green to blue and finally purple before going back to purple. Once you loop back to yellow from there, the robots will be at their most dangerous and their lasers will be at their fastest speed. Once you get through the "first loop," you may have to be a little crafty to take out some enemies. Thankfully, the walls are just as bad for the robots as they are for you, and if they run into the walls, they will die. It is possible to get a robot to inadvertently shoot another robot and kill it, giving you the points.
Every once in a while, a bullet will not kill a robot. If that happens, just shoot the robot again and it will go down.
In Game 1, the robots will shoot at you, but Evil Otto is nowhere in sight and you'll get an extra life every 1,000 points, making it the easiest of the "default-style" variations.
Game 1 is not the easiest game variation, but it is not the hardest one, either. You may get bored with it once you hone your skills enough, and you just might find yourself playing the other game variations, which you can access with the Game Select switch (the difficulty switches are not used in this game). Thankfully, the other game variations will be covered in future videos.
Just when you thought this was done, I get to show off a ROM hack of the game that allows for digitized speech. Better late than never, and what's there is pretty awesome.
In 2002, Mike Mika hacked digital voice samples similar to those in the arcade version into the Atari 2600 port of the game. It includes the phrases "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!", "Chicken, fight like a robot," and "The humanoid must not escape" as you move from one room to another. The game also has darker blue walls and a green player character to more closely resemble the arcade version.
There were also physical copies of the game sold at the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo, which quickly sold out, giving this ROM hack physical form.
Game 12 is the easiest game variation of all. The robots don't shoot at you, the game gives you an extra life every 1,000 points, and Evil Otto does not show up at all. As a result, this is a very good game mode to play for young children or anyone who is not used to how the game plays.
Game 11 is just like Game 10 in which the robots don't shoot at you and you get an extra life every 1,000 points, but this time, Evil Otto can be shot down and taken out temporarily, making this variation easier than Game 10. But the easiest game mode is yet to come...
Game 10 is a little different. You get an extra life every 1,000 points, but this time, the robots don't shoot at you. Also, Evil Otto is invincible instead of non-existent, breaking the pattern from the other sets of game variations and going in reverse with the Evil Otto appearances. Game 10-12 allows for players to practice with enemies without enemies shooting back.
Game 9 is just like Game 8: the robots shoot and there are no extra lives to help you. Unlike Game 8, however, Evil Otto can't be destroyed. At this point, survival is absolutely essential.
In Game 8, the rules are the same as Game 7 - robots shoot at you and extra lives are completely obtainable - but this time, Evil Otto is involved. It is possible to temporarily get rid of him, but what do you consider choosing...points or safety?
In Game 7, Evil Otto is gone, but the robots will shoot at you. The worst part? There are no extra lives in Game 7. If you lose a life, you lose it for good. Games 7-9 are the "survival modes" of the game, with each successive game variation more difficult than the last. You'll need to play very, very well on this variation as well as Game 8 or Game 9 to get a high score.
We have the same rules for extra lives and shooting robots as in Games 4 and 5 for Game 6, but this time, Evil Otto is invincible. Once again, survival is the main mission.
The next three game variations are going to be the hardest...
