Play Meter

Issue: 1981 July 01 - Vol 7 Num 12

rdarous
moon
Another new video game has been
announced by Game Plan, Inc.-
called Killer Comet, and features an
attact mode that spawns monsters,
bombs, spacepods, laser beams, and
more.
Killer Comet is produced by
Game Plan under license by Centuri,
Inc.
The game's big surprise is the
Killer Comet. Once the game is coin-
activated, this goes into action and
attacks the player from any and all
directions. Lots of movement and
colorful display on the upright color
monitor serve to attract continuous
play.
Popular features of the game are
the optional left and right hand
controls. Once the game is opera-
tional, player chooses from four or
five spacepods to attract the mon-
sters. The challenge is to keep space -
pods from being eaten by monsters,
bombed, or hit by the Killer Comet.
Two players can play using
different colored spacepods. The
monsters in different colors and
sizes drifting in from the top of the
screen as bombs start rainjng down.
The monster attack in waves of 25 ;
the spacepod must be maneuvered
by the player to get good shots at
them. Joystick controls permit the
player to fly the s pacepod in
simulated gra v ity- fre e space
conditions. If the spacepods are
endangered, the player can activate the
Hyperspace button causing the
spacepod to disappear and then
reappear at an undisclosed location.
If it lands on a monster or a bomb, it's
destroyed.
A player can fire his energy-laser
beams straight up, right, or left .
Shots can be made simultaneously,
but not continuously. When a beam
strikes a monster or bomb, it
explodes with bright fl ash and audio
blast.
PLAY METER , july 1, 1981
zarzon
aooears
T aito America has recently released
Zarzon to the video game i~dustry.
The evil that is Zarzon manifests
itself in a seemingly endless variety of
forms and shapes.
Players man their rocketships
against waves of UFOs, rockets, and
a giant meteor-then take to the
assault in tanks against deadly space
spiders and an all-out dragonfly
invasion of terror. Attack patterns
change unexpectedly and become
increasingly more dangerous and
intense.
"If the player can defeat Zarzon
and ailS waves of different enemies,"
said Jack Mittel, president of Taito,
"he will earn another chance to chal-
lenge the game and a quick-paced at-
tack will begin again at Phase I. This
unique feature is a special draw for
the skillful player who wants to test
his ability and be rewarded for his
efforts.
~
Zarzon is currently available in a
one or two player upright and in
Taito's Trimline model.
65
A olauer's utdeo
Is his castle
Getting
uour IIICIIS
Route 16, a two-dimensional video
strategy game, is the latest release
from Centuri, Inc.
Route 16 takes it name from the 16
city blocks or routes the player is
introduced to when the game begins.
With enemy cars in hot pursuit, the
player selects one of the 16 routes
and attempts to eliminate as many
targets as possible. Upon his
entering the route, the screen shifts
tp an enlarged detailed close-up of
the targets and activities of the
block.
A player must not only select the
most rewarding routes, but
successfully maneuver his formula
car and avoid the chase cars and
various hazards along the way.
The exclusive manufacturing
rights for North, Central, and South
America, and Europe (excluding the
United Kingdom and Spain), were
granted to Centuri by T ehkan
International Corporation of Japan.
The Hialeah, Flordia-based
Centuri will manufacture both
upright and cocktail table models of
the game.
66
Warlords is one of the latest video
game sensations from Atari. The
object of the game is to shield a
player's "home castle from fireball
attack, and to catch and redirect the
fireballs so that they will hit and
destroy the walls of the enemy's
castle. The Black Knight is the
enemy that must be destroyed
through player skill and attentive-
ness.
By controlling the "Power Stone,"
a player can catch a fireball released
by animated dragon57'and hold it on
his shield for defense before
redirecting it at the opposing castles.
Warlords has Atari's new Skill-
Sense special feature that allows the
game to self-adjust to provide equal
game time opportunity for any
degree of player skill. This method of
automatic percentaging provides an
immediate c;hallenge for skilled
players and extra play incentive for
novice players.
Individual scores are displayed
inside home castle walls, while team
scores showing the total of two
players' scores are displayed in
between the two castles of the team
members.
Also included with Warlords is a
new dual coin mech and an isolated
cashbox with a separate locking
access door.
Fr'ank Ballouz, vice president of
marketing, said: Warlords is an
exciting medieval battle action game.
Player response has been enthusias-
tic, and repeat play is automatic." I
is available in standard upright and
the new cocktail table design cabinet
models with telescopic legs.
PLAY METER, july 1,1 981

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