Sea Wolf
remake
Falling
rocks
Atari has introduced Avalanche ,
the one- or two-Rlayer video skill
game . Players try to catch falling
rocks in a roaring avalanche.
The larger rocks begin to fall
slowly and the player has six paddles
to catch them . The avalanche begins
to rumble . The more rocks caught ,
the faster they fall , decreasing in size .
The number and size of the paddles
also decreases to increase the
challenge as the player develops skill.
This game can be set at three or
five heats per game ; when a rock hits
the bottom line the heat is over and
the avalanche freezes ; the release
button is pushed to start for the next
heat. Players continue toward the
goal of catching all the rocks .
If all the rocks are caught, a new
avalanche begins; however , this time
the player starts with only three
paddles (The third avalanche starts
with two paddles , and the fourth with
only one) .
The points - scored for catching
rocks range from 1 to 6, increasing as
the falling rocks get smaller and the
paddles decrease . There is an
optional extended play feature giving
the player another try and adding to
the replay incentive . This is set at 450
points on a three-heat game , and
750 points for a . five -heat game .
Competition on Avalanche is intensi-
fied by the previous high score
displayed on the attract mode as well
as the visual goal of catching all of the
rocks displayed on the screen .
COinage options include one or
two coins per play , one coin for two
plays , or free play can easily be
adjusted by a switch on the board .
The video message display can also
be adjusted to four different lan -
guages: English , French, Spanish or
German.
64
Seawolf II , following on the heels
of the original Seawolf game , has
been released and is in full pro-
duction, according to an announce-
ment by Midway's director of market-
ing, Stan Jarocki.
"The new Seawolf II ," explained
Jarocki , "although it has the basic
game characteristics of the original
version , is brand new conceptually .
For one thing , the game is presented
in radiant full color and you have to
see it in order to believe what a
dramatic effect this has on the play of
the game . Additionally , the con-
figuration s of the vessels take on a
different character and the scoring
has some fascinat ing new wrinkles .
Also," he con tinued , "the new
Sea wolf II is a one- or two -player
game , a significant change which
adds a new dimension of competition
to th e player ."
Th e object of the game is to score
as many poin ts as possible by sinking
seaborn e vessels. Freighters are the
slow t moving and easiest to hit and
yi Id 100 pOints for a hit. Warships ,
at medium speed, give a player 300
points per hit . PT Boats are fast
moving and make only infreq uent
app arances announced by the
sound of sonar with a 500-point
reward .
Th e most difficult vessel is "Super-
ub" which appears only during the
last crucial seconds of the game . The
player is pr pared for the Sub's
app arance with a flashing sign and
is rewarded with a handso me 1,000
points if he scor .
Eit her player making four con -
s cutive hits of any ships receives
double the score value of hits . A
furth r optional feature , adjustable at
any of the thr e scoring values, is
.. xt nded patrol" which lengthens
th game proportionately .
The gam also features genuine
sounds of undersea battle - the
"whoosh " of torpedoes leaving the
tub s. the onar sound of approach-
ing targ ts. th warning horn of a
diving submarin e and shattering
xplosions as torpedoes hit their
target .
PLAY METER , May, 1978