Play Meter

Issue: 1981 September 15 - Vol 7 Num 17

ship. Players also control laser fire
and bomb release buttons in a hair-
raising battle against seven deadly
aggressors.
The first set of floating UFO bases
moves right or left. Low flying tankers
and tighters appear at the bottom of
the screen simultaneously. Occa-
sionally, a UFO or fighter will fly out
of formation and attack the player
ship.
The second army of horizontal
UFOs start at the bottom right and
move up until they reach the player
ship, ready to attack.
The "Mother Ship" releases the
third set of UFOs while the low flying
tankers and fighters appear again.
The Mother Ship, armed to fire at a
player's ship, resists multiple laser
shots before being destroyed.
Multi-colored diamond-shaped
UFOs with vulnerable midsections
appear as the fourth challenging
army. Players add bonus points by
shooting out the center of the UFOs
and maneuvering their ships through
the mid-section without scraping the
sides of the remaining target.
When these rounds are complete,
the player ship moves on to three
vertical sequences. In the first, the
player battles while looking down on
the city from a very high altitude.
The next two vertical sequences
put the player ship in deep space. In
the first sequence, during battle the
player must avoid large scary "black
holes" in space. If the player ship flies
too close to the center of a black
hole, the ship loses control
temporarily and the player is unable
to fire at passing UFOs.
In the final vertical sequence, the
player ship is assaulted by hurling
asteroids. The player ship is helpless,
without fire-power, and must dodge
these flaming targets. If a player
succeeds through this phase, the
game continues to a higher level of
difficulty.
At the end of each round, total
distance the player ship has flown is
converted to bonus points. The
faster a player can complete each
round, the more points he earns. A
high score earns the player a bonus
ship. Operator may select from
several levels of game difficulty and
number of ships available to the
player.
Space Odyssey 1s a raster monitor
Sega/Gremlin Convert-a-Game. The
company states that Convert-a-Game
offers the opportunity for continued top
earnings because the video game is
convertible into a new game with
ConvertaPak which Sega/Gremlin
will make available with future new
game introductions.
PLAY METER,
September 15, 1981
suoer Cobra
strllles
Stern Electronics, Inc. has
~nnounced plans to begin produc-
tion of Super Cobra, a new video
~arne licensed from Konami Industry
of Japan.
The solid-state, one- or two-player
game features explosive sound
effects synchronized with the non-
stop play action.
Object of the game is for the
player-bombarded on all sides by
enemy tanks and rockets, UFOs,
and surface-to-air missiles-to
navigate his helicopter through
enemy territory and penetrate 10
defense systems. To win, a player
must capture and escape with
enemy "booty."
Super Cobra offers players the
option of starting a new game at the
defensive level attained in the
previous game.
Other innovative game and
scoring features include:
- The player moves helicopter up
and down, accelerates and deceler-
ates by moving "joy stick" control. He
destroys attackers by pressing Laser
and bomb buttons.
- The player earns extra fuel for
aircraft with destruction of enemy
fuel tanks.
- At 10,000 points, the player is
awarded Bonus Chopper.
Levels of difficulty increase after
penetration of each defense system.
IS that
VoLcano shaft and the player will find
the ball shot back at the flipper area
with Volcanic force from a
subterranean shaft.
"Fast action, great new features
and graphics, our versatile speech
sound system, and an erupting
Volcano light show have all been
blended and the result is a truly
exceptional pingame," commented
Marshall Caras, vice president of
marketing. "The results of our new
test programs have exceeded out
expectations and we've found
Volcano's earnings are surpassing
those as some of the best video
games on the market. We have also
had a good response from operators
on the promotional aids included in
each game, " he said.
Coin malles the
world go 'round
The new Loue Tester coin machine
from Mike Munves Corp. is a
reproduction of an antique popular
arcade piece.
The Laue Tester features solid
state PC boards, a handfinished
cabinet, heavy brass handles, and
metal casing.
The player inserts a coin (10¢ or
25¢ at operator's option), pulls the
handle, and sees and hears his
"score" in ringing bells and flashing
lights.
High-volume capacity is sup·
ported by the Mike Munves
machine, with 10 seconds playing
time per coin.
mt. st. Helens? comfort uttered
D. Gottlieb and Co . recently
announced the release of Volcano, a
multiple ball pingame that takes
players back in time to a prehistoric
fantasy world.
Players are treated to a variety of
new features on Volcano. A moving
shooter guide lets each player take
aim, freeze the shooter guide, and
try to hit the lit target at the top of the
playfield. Hitting the lit target earns
the player a Ball-Save on the left
outlanes.
Once the action starts, players
must shoot for the new Crater
Playfield in the game's upper right-
hand corner. This "ski-ball" type
playfield offers four crater holes to
enter. Entering a lit crater captures
the ball and advances the player
towards multiple ball play while
entering an unlit crater activates the
sit-down olauers
A chair designed for maximum
comfort for the video cocktail table
player features design to dis·
courages non-player seating.
Owners and operators of video
games welcome this innovation
design because while the chairs are
comfortable for the players, they are
not so for general purpose seating,
said the manufacturer.
The chairs are attractive, durable
and highly functional, measuring 18Ys
inches in seating height by 13 ~ in
seating depth. They feature hard
rubber, hooded ball casters for easy
maneuverability and heavy duty
steel ball bearings in the pedestal
base fo r reinforced swivel action.
The easy-care upholstered seat
and back are finished with the same
59
attention given to luxury home
furnishings. The nickel-chrome
plated base and bolted T -nut
construction ensure long-lasting and
trouble-free dependability.
The chairs are available in a
variety of colors, geared to comple·
ment a wide range of interiors.
Chairs can be ordered through
local distributors. To obtain the
name of the distributor in the local
area, contact Starnet Sales
Corp.,P.O. Box 103, Skokie, Illinois
60076;/or call 312/ 965-8870
First uidao color
vector game
Sega/ Gremlin has introduced its
Space Fury, the first video game
utilizing a color vector system which
the company calls ColorBeam.
Color Beam displays vivid, brilliant
color, enhancing Space Fury game
play.
"Space Fury combines Color-
Beam with realistic speech
synthesis, fast-paced Multi-Phase
action and the popular space theme
for a game that attracts crowds at
any location. Location test reports
show that Space Fury is an
outstanding performer, a real 'hit'
that urges many repeat plays from all
age groups," boasts Gremlin
President Duane Blough. "Space
Fury also affords the tremendous
advantage of Sega/ Gremlin's
revolutionary Convert-a-Game
capability."
A one- or two-player game, Space
Fury demands attention during the
advertising mode when it asks: "Is
there any warrior mightier than I?"
Players accepting the dare are
further challenged when an eerie,
one-eyed alien creature appears and
says: "So ... a creature for my
amusement. Prepare for battle!"
Right and left rotation, thrust, and
fire buttons are provided for the
defense of the player ship. The
player has an unlimited supply of
ammunition and the thrust button
allows the player ship to dodge
threatening craft.
In each round, enemy ships ate
formed when four crafts join forces
and attack as one. Only complete
ships launch lethal scarlet fireballs. If
a single craft is destroyed before it
links with other craft, the partial ship
will attempt to track down the player
ship and destroy it.
When the player has successfully
eliminated enemy fleets before
60
reinforcements arrive, the player
may choose a docking sequence for
increased firepower. The player who
fights through two rounds hears the
alien creature address enemy ships:
"Warships: destroy this annoyance
at once."
As the player continues to
antagonize the alien creature by
destroying more and more enemy
ships, the creature orders further
attacks and subsequent rounds get
progressively more difficult.
Once the alien creature has
defeated the player, it rates that
player's performance: "Our battle is
complete, warrior. You were an
amusing opponent," or: "You were
an adequate (easy, stimulating or
outstanding) opponent," challenging
players to better their rating with
another play.
Operators may select from several
levels of game difficulty and number
of ships available to the player.
Treasures
In the dungeon
Exidy, Inc. recently released
Venture, its newest video game.
Venture game play begins in a
hallway of a multi-leveled dungeon.
The player (appearing on the screen
as Winky) chooses one of four
chambers to enter, to avoid
confrontation with the Hallmonster.
Each room contains a treasure
(such as a pot of gold, a diamond, a
damsel in distress, Winkette herselO
guarded by three or more
threatening creatures (such as
goblins, serpents, or spiders). The
player must out-maneuver or shoot
the creatures to obtain the treasure.
Points are awarded for hitting
creatures, and obtaining treasures.
The less time it takes the player to
collect a level's treasures, the more
bonus points are awarded. The
player must collect all the treasurers
from a level before descending to the
next.
Venture features a new Micro-
synthesizer Audio System with
original soundtrack and special
sound effects, a left- or right-handed
fire button, new 8-position joystick,
international graphics, multi-lingual
instructions (English, Spanish,
French, or German).
Selectable options on Venture
include Top Today's High Score,
coins per play, international coin
types, language selection, number of
turns per player, and the amount of
bonus.
Exidy Director of Marketing Lila
Zinter, commented, " We are
experiencing exhilarating and
overwhelming response to Venture,
both by the players of our field test
locations and by the many
distributors who've come to see
Venture. The special appeal of
Venture is the continuous mystery
that calls out to the players from
behind every door. The player is
intrigued to find what creatures waits
for him in the next room, what the
next level looks like, how long he has
in a chamber before the lethal
Hallmonster crashes through, and
how many treasures he can collect.
Venture has all t he variety,
innovation and excitement, without
becoming complex, to make it the
next video craze."
Coin controls'
IYIInl door
Coin Controls of Oldham, England , is
shipping its new line of S 10 Mini coin
doors, introduced last January at the
ATE in London. Based on Coin
Controls' S 10 Standard door, this
reduced size entry unit incorporates
the technical and aesthetic advantages
of the "big brother ," said the manu-
facturer.
The S 10 Mini continues the
protective features of S lOs against
vandalism and cheating, said product
literature.
Either single or double entries for all
the major coinages of the world can be
mounted , or the door can be supplied
"blank" for access to cashbox or
service areas of machines. A Double
Mini Door assembly provides both
facilities within one framework and
all items can be offered with either
stainless steel or black painted
fronts.
S 10 Mini/ Coin Controls
PLAY METER, September 15, 1981

Download Page 61: PDF File | Image

Download Page 62 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.