Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!

On 11/05/2014 at 03:57 PM by KnightDriver

Remember that from the arcade game Berzerk? I'm recalling all sorts of old school memories and learning some new things in Brett Weiss' new book The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987. Get a look over my shoulder as I write myself notes about what I've been reading today.

Atlantis for the Intellivision has a central saucer you can fly around and attack with? I guess I only played the Atari 2600 version which didn't have this feature. Wish I still had an Intellivision to experience it for myself. I'll have to settle for this youtube video:

He uses the central saucer at the 2 min mark. I just remembered I can play this on the Intellivision Lives! collection I have for PS2 and DS.

Balloon Fight for the NES looks like an interesting spin on Joust by the creator of Metroid. Word descriptions and too small a screen shot not enough for me, so here's a youtube gameplay vid:

Darn this is really like Joust. I like the flappy people and balloons better though. Is that Mario Bros. music in the challenge screen? Sure sounds like it.

Sequel to Balloon Fight, Balloon Kid, mentioned for Game Boy that takes place in a town called Pencilvania. The buildings are pencils! Ha! I'm using that as my location in my profile for sure. What's it look like?

Ha ha ha ha ha. Just like Philly. Matchsticks and pencils.

The gameplay looks pretty darn cool. I'm going to have to play this. It's on 3DS virtual console. There's that music again from the challenge screen of Balloon Fight. That's got to have been used in a Mario game - so familiar. I like that you can release your balloon to run through crawl spaces and then pump up a new one, or several new ones. Neat!

This book is making me give more value to the Atari 5200 and 7800, which I used to think were largely pointless to have. The 7800 version of Asteroids has a two player mode and the 5200 version of Berzerk has the robot voices that say things like the title of this blog and one I never noticed before "Chicken! Fight like a robot!". Ha ha!

Matt Snee Staff Writer

11/05/2014 at 05:33 PM

i never played balloon fight, but I've heard great things.

I had an intellivision briefly.

KnightDriver

11/06/2014 at 03:28 AM

Me too. Took up too much space along with my Atari 2600, so it went to my friend Mark's place where he still also has a Colecovision. I can get my fill anytime with Intellivision Lives! on PS2.

The Last Ninja

11/05/2014 at 07:37 PM

Balloon Kid is an awesome game! Everyone needs to play it.

11/06/2014 at 03:37 AM

Good thing it's available everywhere there's a virtual console.

Cary Woodham

11/05/2014 at 07:42 PM

I really prefer Joust over Balloon Fight. They made a reworked version of Balloon Kid starring Tingle, I'd like to play that one. I wish the 5200 got more love. Everyone gushes about the 2600 but there was some neat stuff on the 5200, too.

11/06/2014 at 03:42 AM

Staring Tingle? Wow. I think I need to play Balloon Fight to decide if I like it better than Joust. I remember Joust's controls really infuriating me - so hard to move those birds around the screen.

I think I've heard the 5200 is the deck to own (maybe it was the 7800. One of them has horrible controllers though). You can play all of the 2600 library plus some better ports of arcade games.

11/06/2014 at 05:39 AM

Yeah the 5200 had the awful controllers. But darn it, River Raid was so much better on the 5200 than the 2600.

11/06/2014 at 02:53 PM

This book is selling me on the 5200 and 7800, which I used to scoff at.

Super Step Contributing Writer

11/05/2014 at 10:00 PM

I think it might be the ending Super Mario Bros. 2 (U.S.) song being used in the start of the Balloon Kid video.

The guy in the Atlantis video is very obviously reading a script unless the Shatner-esque pauses are intentional. I'm honestly not sure. If it's on purpose, it does add some charm in a way.

11/06/2014 at 04:02 AM

Here's the SMB2 ending.

I'm thinking it's from a Zelda game now. . . no maybe not. It's a rockin' tune though.

That Atlantis video guy sounds a lot like the Classic Game Room guy to me.

goaztecs

11/06/2014 at 11:05 AM

The only thing I remember about the 5200 and 7800 was when I used to look through the JC Penny catalog looking for stuff I wanted for Christmas. This might have been pre Nintendo for me.

So that is what Balloon Fight is all about. I'll have to keep an eye out for it at the Swapmeet.

NSonic79

11/11/2014 at 12:41 PM

Never heard of them. I'll probably pass on them if they are offered as a digital game buy. now when I find them in some complication that'll be different but for now...

11/11/2014 at 04:38 PM

Atlantis is on Intellivision Lives! for PS2/Xbox/DS. The Balloon games are on VC, but not on any compilations that I can find, although you can play Balloon Fight within Animal Crossing.

PixlBit