Videogames•Computer Games • Stand-Alone Games 'Arcades

DELL 04114 NOVEMBER, 1983 • $2.95

YOU'LL SHAKE. QUAKE RID SHUDDER WITH SCARY GAMES BALL FLIPS-OUTU T! GOODIES FOR GAMERS HALL OF FAME ADDS TWO! ware pipeline filled for their ers of this remarkable unit. an absolutely dizzying effect. line computers. Also available system. Though their earlier Web Wars is among the Fortress of Narzod is a tank vs are musical peripherals and a titles were either very well- finest arcade blast-up con- tank battle requiring a healthy game creation package known coin-op adaptations tests ever to drive a gamer knowledge of angles and de- featuring a light pen that is (Scramble, Rip Off) or clones into paroxyms of excitement. flection. capable of bending lines like of existing games, the last six Hyperchase is a sort of Turbo Finally, is adding rubber bands and then spin- months have brought a trea- with elements of high speed even more exciting software, ning them in three dimension- sury of vector finery for own- vertigo introduced to produce more in line with top-of-the- al simulation. VMATEVER HAPPENED 10... CHANNEL F, ULTRAVISION AND THE ?

Zircon, who have released less man, challenge the comput- Well, after the price drop- than five new titles since tak- er world. The system prom- ped lower than a spider's ing ownership several years ised 64K of resident memory, navel, the Emerson Arcadia ago. hi-fi audio and its own color 2001 moved into the unique Still, there are some in- monitor. position of becoming a pro- teresting, unduplicated soft- Oh yes, it was also sup- ware titles available for the posed to be 2600 compatible. Zircon Channel F, particularly If this all sounds a bit too Whizball, with its still-un- good to be true, evidently the 0 0 0 -' 41 0 copied and totally compulsive manufacturers agreed. After Vo Vo play-mechanic. the unit was sold at least once, 'ay m: ~~'W~ :~: .: the project remains in limbo, -50. DEMISE OF where it will probably stay. THE ULTIMATE Ultravision's sole legacy, in • ARCADE? fact, is a VCS game, Condor It was billed as every Attack, a shoddy variation on DID SOMEBODY arcader's dream machine. . TURN OFF Lounging in a chair that CHANNEL F? would make Captain Kirk's WHITHER THE Fairchild's Channel F was command throne look like a ARCADIA 2001? one of the earliest program- Salvation Army sofa, the sub- So what about Emerson's mable machines. This unit ject would don powerful was a total of 10 minutes earphones, little system FOR THE ARCADIA 2001 ahead of its time. Utilizing a and armed with the crude, graphics mapping with the most terrible joy- motionally priced item. technique, the system could sophisticated sticks but Whether used as a loss leader not stand up under the weapons con- the mem- or given away as a bonus with heavier technological punch trollers ever ory of a the purchase of a toaster, the of the competing program- conceived by personal Emerson is still available in de- mables. computer? partment stores across Fairchild soon realized this the U.S. and sold off their entire It's doubtful inventory to the that any California- further based software will be added to the cata- log, but it may be a system worth looking at for the price. G

ARCADIA 2001 SYSTEM 82 Whatever Happened to... Channel F, Ultravision and the Arcadia 2001? Electronic Games November 1983, Page 82

[Extraction from complete Article]

Whither the Arcadia 2001?

So what about the Emerson's powerful little system with the terrible but the memory of a personal computer? Well, after the price dropped lower than a spider's navel, the Emerson Arcadia 2001 moved into the unique position of becoming a promotionally priced item. Whether used as a loss leader or given away as a bonus with the purchase of a toaster, the Emerson is still available in department stores across the U.S. It's doubtful that any further software will be added to the catalog, but it may be a system worth looking at for the price. 1 T :FROM FILM TO GAME...AND BACK! RIC

Videogames • Computer Games • Stand-Alone Games Arcades NOVEMBER, 1982. 5295

A new world of Gadgets and Accessories DIES FOR GAMERS

Vectrex: , f King of the Stand-Alones

Fun is Just a Phoneca Away: DIAL -A- GAME

V?- • ~ —. 0\c CMCRSON A Gamer's Evaluation either blank the picture after two min- utes of non-play or to vary the colors By HENRY COHEN or intensity of the on-screen image. When questioned about this lack of TV wise man once said, "Good capacity. The unit contains 28K of protection circuitry, Emerson told EG A things come in small packages." RAM, which makes it the second (Col- that it is looking into the situation, but Whoever coined this addage certainly ecoVision has 48K) smartest vid- that it feels such protection isn't wasn't thinking about Emerson's new eogame system around. All this power needed. Emerson may be right, but the Arcadia 2001 videogame system, but is great if it is used properly, but un- company is going to have the phrase sure fits, anyway. This unit, fortunately the only six games availa- a hard time convincing which looks something like the - ble for testing at the time of this writing potential buyers of this. livision's baby brother, has got to be used more than 8K of memory. Let's take a closer look the cutest system around. The controllers are almost virtual at some of the games: The carton in which the Arcadia twins of those found on . The great American 2001 comes packed, hardly looks big There are 12 buttons on the keyboard, pastime Baseball is done enough to hold a handful of cartridges. two firing buttons (Mattel has four) justice by way of one de- Nonetheless, the console packs the and a disk controller. The latter fea- lightful innovation in the power of a senior programmable vid- tures a long- awaited innovation, 2001's diamond program eogame machine. screw-in . If you like the disks When a ball is hit to the Though it's hard to know if the de- you've got 'em, and if you crave a outfield, a second screen signers considered it in this light, the joystick it's there in the box just wait- appears which shows an Arcadia owns the distinction of being ing for you. outline of the outfield the world's first portable videogame Mylar overlays come with each system. Besides its diminutive size, al- game, as needed, and both con ways handy in a take-along, the 2001 trollers fit neatly into the con- is capable of operating off of any 12- sole when play is completed, volt DC power source. This includes though the cords dangle. auto batteries of the type used in boats One glaring omission is and campers, a video power belt or the that the system does not battery pack of a portable TV. Just contain circuitry to think, once Watchman-size color tele- vision becomes a reality, you'll be able to fit a com- plete fun factory into a briefcase! Flanking the central car- tridge slot on the Arcadia 2001 console are two In- tellivision look-alike con- trollers. Just below the cartridge slot is the one off switch and buttons for reset, game select, option select and start. A "pow- er on" LED completes the picture. Along the back panel are found,conveniently located jacks for tw optional controllers, a 12-volt DC power source, two hard- wired coil cords (for the built-in con- trollers and a channel 3/channel 4 selector switch. The big news about the system, however, is its extremely high memory

/00 Ileclronle Game. ARC4DIkzL and the single player involved.This It is also easy to learn and to master, We have no doubt that Emerson can provides a much better chance for the giving it a leg up on most of its com- do a much better job than with this first outfielder to catch and field a ball than petition. This reviewer liked 2001 edition of Breakaway. It really other home simulations. After the Baseball and looks forward to other shouldn't have broken away from player gets the ball, the screen reverts sports simulations from this newcomer Emerson at all. to normal and the coach can direct the on the block. Cat Trax conversely, is not a game fielder to throw the ball to any base- Breakaway, the 2001 approach to for pussycats, but more of a clever man including the catcher. wall-bashing is nothing more than maze-chase. Cat Trax provides three, With a full nine-player adequate. The cartridge is innovative rather than nine lives, as you maneuver team represented and in that it allows varying of the paddle your kitty through a maze dodging a control of pitching, hit- speed and includes a vertical version of trio of hungry dogs. At the same time, ting and running, manag- the game, but the overall effect was the electronic feline must gobble up ers can make realistic unimpressive. As EG tested an early pieces of catnip and an occasional plays. The game is not version of the game and we were told bone. The bone flashes periodically in quite as detailed as the later versions would be much im- the middle of the screen, and if you award-winning Intellivi- proved, it isn't worth detailing the snatch it, you turn into a dogcatcher's sion cartridge but it is problems. Suffice that paddle speed van that enables you to race through dose—and an was much too pokey, the vertical ver- the maze, at a very high speed and excellent baseball game sions had to be played with the joystick capture the offending canines. Once in its own right. moving diagonally, and touched, the dogs are placed in the overall control was any- pound for up to 20 seconds of game thing but smooth. Judg- time. There's a time clock within the ing from the other doghouse that lets you know just how games we previewed, long you have to grab the catnip be- we could only wish fore the dogs are released once more. for the improved ver- Each time you eat a bone and send the sion to come our way. pups to their just reward, less time is awarded to get the job done. The graph- ics are clever, and the game is gener- ally a great deal of fun. It is one of the few home maze games that offers almost as much fun as the granddaddy of them all, Pac-Man. Cat Tray is a good game and should keep you purring for hours at a time. Sticking within the labyrinth category, there is Jangler. Played in a maze that closely resembles Cat Trax, Jung- ter pits a gamer's con- trolled serpent against one driven by the com- puter. Notice we didn't ARCADIA 2001 SYSTEM say snake because Continued on page 105

EMERSON ARCADIA more room is left, and the game goes enjoyable. We can only wonder what Continued from page 101 back and forth until all squares are Space Chess will be like since Emerson captured by someone. The game al- is obviously quite lever, judging by lows you, through its options, to set Capture, at producing electronic some people just don't like the time limits, change difficulty levels or board-games. thought of snakes, much less actually simply represent two human players. It That's the story of the little vid- having one in their home, even if it is also keeps a running score and times of eogame system that could. At a list electronic. each move. price of $200.00, but with an actual Sticking closely to the arcade ver- Capture is not a speed and reflex selling price of only half that amount, challengers players to sion, Jungler game but rather an intellectual chal- Arcadia 2001 packs quite a wallop for position a serpent so that its lashing lenge. As such, it's first rate and highly the buck. tongue can destroy sections of the rural reptile before the same is done to you. Normally, you can only consume sections from the middle and tail of the opposing serpent, but if you pass through the center of the maze when it ~GUYS & GALS - JOIN NOW is flashing, your head toms color and Membership in the Video Game Players Association M M you can shoot head to head. The game Makes You Automaticall Eli able to Enter Drawin in is a little slow, and the maze a little M M broad, butlungles is challenging and M M fun. It's also unique to the system, V.G.P.A. M M so if thislungler is your coin-op fave, here is the only way to the safari. The M The last of the arcade style games, is Space M 1st ANNUAL M Attack. A combination Galaxian and Space Attack pits $5,000 , M M your horizontal cannon against a field VIDEO GAME M of attacking aliens that stays in forma- M CHAMPIONSHIP tion and fires at you relentlessly. An M M occasional invader comes down M PLAY-OFFS M one-to-one to keep things interesting. M M There are no shields and so quick re- M flexes are key to survival. M JUNE 15. 1983 One of the problems in Space Attack M FREE DECAL M is that each round starts with the can- M to New Members Ç M non somewhere off-screen to the M M right. Until you get used to beginning a M M round with the joystick pointed dead left, you may think the designers for- M M got a key graphic—your cannon. M M Other than that idiosyncrasy, there is a M M pronounced slowness to the move- M M ment of the cannon we found irksome. As a VGPA member, you receive our exciting Dec. newsletter, Again this condition may be corrected M "Video Game Views" with Championship rules, tips on how to M by the time the final versions hit the M better your scores, members' discounts and much, much more. M home market. Other than these two M Gals, a great gift for your guy! M small problems, graphics are good and M Entry Form - Mail to: VGPA, P.O. Box 1160, Hollywood, Fla. 33022 M Space' Attack may be considered M M another reasonable version of several ENTER TO WIN $5,000. VIDEO GAME PLAY-OFFS M M very familiar space shoot-em-ups. 1st Prize -$3,000 2nd Prize -$1,000 3rd a 4th Prizes - $500 ea. Capture, an electronic version of M 24 Finalists receive vacation in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (3 days/2 nites) M Reversi is a delight. In this battle of M for finalist and parent. M wits, which can be played against M Ll Please enroll me as a new member of VGPA. 53.00 lee includes member- another opponent or the computer, ship, postage, handling. entry in your Championship Play-ons drawing. M the object of the game is to capture M and 1 yr. subscription to VGPA newsletter. Enclose Cheek or money order. M and maintain ownership of the highest M Nam M number of squares on a grid. You M Addree M capture a square by placing your piece City state Zio next to your opponent's piece, on a M M A line or diagonal which also contains another of your pieces. In simpler ,[ I II i I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1) terms you sandwich your opponents squares with your own pieces. He may then sandwich you in, sort of like put- ting hands on a baseball bat until no Videogames •Computer Games • Stand-A

Den 04114 _. .~ alb1 VIDEO- GAMING ~ --MEETS ~ POP CULTURE! Oh! Othello BETTER CONTROL FOR YOUR GAMES Improve Your Score With a Custom Joystick Otkik

EMERSON for next year is an even more UNVEILS advanced version of the Ar- ARCADIA 2001 cadia 2001, though no de- expects to tails of this second genera- have a new videogame sys- tion unir are available at the tem, along with 20 game present time. cartridges, in the stores in time for the holiday gift- giving season this year. Alien robots have invaded! You Dubbed Arcadia 2001, the must make your way to safety and recapture the cosmic treasure. new machine has a number Maneuver your way through 9 of desirable features includ- different mazes. Watch out for the alien robots hidden throughout the ing a 12-volt system to make mazes. Shoot them or they will it usable in trailers, campers, shoot you. Time is against you. The ultimate experience in alien cars and boats, cable-ready invasion on . connections and a controller that easily switches from an

Intellivision-style direction .11101 tOlr disk to the more traditional joystick. Another nice touch is a power on-off light, to , prevent home arcaders from accidentally leaving the sys- tem going after a play- session. Arcadia 2001 will get heavy software support from the company, promises NMS Emerson's senior vice presi- dent of marketing Sonny Knazick. There will be 30 cartridges for the system by the end of this year, with another 20 scheduled to ap- pear in 1983. Also planned GT TRIM

ARCADIA the VCS. It's a RAM car- charger, this device will mar- UNVEILS tridge which, when plugged kedly upgrade the graphic VCS UPGRADE into the regular slot in the capabilities of the VCS, pro- This isn't your garden- VCS console, increases viding greater resolution and variety ROM cartridge. A screen ROM from the stan- the ability to move more new company called Arcadia dard 128 to over objects around on the has made what it believes is a 6,000. playfield. significant breakthrough for Dubbed the Super- Arcadia will shortly release