Play Meter

Voices, tun and
torebodlna
Centuri, Inc. , has just completed
another licensing agreement with a
leading Japanese firm and will
manufacture Vanguard, a new video
space game.
The agreement with the Osaka-
based SNK Corp. (Shin Nihon
Kikaku) gives Centuri the exclusive
rights to manufacture and sell
Vanguard in North, South, and
Central America and the Caribbean
Islands, said Centuri President Ed
Miller in a recent announcement.
In Vanguard, players mus t
traverse 12 tunnels (or rounds), each
containing several stages of play.
The first tunnel alone contains eight
playing stages, and the number
varies with each remaining tunnel.
"Bon Voyage!" bids Vanguard's
commanding voice as play begins at
the opening stage of the first tunnel,
which is bordered by mountains of
blue and green-hued cubes, enemy
forces attack. The spaceship
protects itself with its four -
directional missiles and by passing
through the "Energy Zone." Once
"energized ," it is able to withstand
crashes into enemy rockets and
missiles and the bordering
mountains.
Succeeding stages are in-
creasingly more difficult and more
rewarding as points increase with the
added danger. Through the blue and
white rocky canyons of the Rainbow
Zone, the orange and green peaks of
the Stick Zone , around the
mountains of the Stripe Zone with its
city of enemy bases and barriers, the
spaceship accounts one threat after
another, and must overcome them
all to avoid being destroyed.
Finally, the player's ship enters
stage VJII, the Dock Zone ruled by
the enemy Gond. When Gond 1s
successfully attacked and destroyed
a commanding ·voice booms out:
"Congratulations." The spacecraft is
then cleared for the start of another
tunnel.
Centuri , Inc. is a Hialeah-based
manufacturer of high-technology
video games and other electronic
devices.
Fau wrau's
new uldeo
Nintendo's newest electronic video
game, Donkey Kong, offers players a
unique and fun-filled change from the
plethora of space adventure games
on the market.
Donkey Kong has become the
best-selling video game in Japan and
test marketing in the United States
has proven it to be extremely
popular with men, women and
children of all ages, according to
Nintendo.
Loosely based on the theme of
"King Kong," this original game is
unlike anything around. As Donkey
Kong climbs to the top of a building
structure carrying a pretty girl in his
arms, he is chased by a little man
who is trying to rescue her. As the
little man climbs to the top, he must
avoid the barrage of obstacles that
come his way- fireballs, attack
vessels and exploding barrels being
thrown at him by Donkey Kong. To
add to the amusing action on the
screen, Donkey Kong runs back and
forth, beating his chest with joy,
especially when he is able to hit the
little man with one of his barrels.
As the pursuer is bombarded with
obstacles in rapid-fire succession, he
must escape by jumping over them
or fendi ng them off with a hammer he
finds on the structure. Extra bonus
points are awarded for direct hits
with the hammer. Also, the faster the
little man gets to the top, the higher
the score.
Donkey Kong has four different
play boards with varying degrees of
difficulty. One or two persons can
play and each gets three little men
per game. However, the operator
can adjus t this number at h1s
discretion, to provide up to six men
per player. Operator flexibility is
further enhanced by the ability to
award an extra man at any of the
following levels: 7,000, 10,000, 15,000,
or 20,000 points. Adjustable coi~age
from 25q: to $1.25 is also pOSSible.
Donkey Kong is available in 3
models: upright, cocktail , and
cabaret.
51
PLAY METER , November 1, 1981