dad@eisx.UUCP (D. DeCourcelle) (11/07/83)
Several new Vectrex games are out. Heres a report on the ones I've got... "SPINBALL PINBALL" A great game.. the controls are really simple: two buttons (2 & 3) control the flippers (two on the left, two right). To shoot the ball into play you pull back on the joystick to tenses the spring loaded gun, then hit button 4 to snap the ball into play. Once in play, the joystick can be used to "bump" the table to influence the ball as in real pinball. Every "bump" jossles the whole table display just the way you'd expect. Very realistic, but be careful, you can TILT and loose your ball. There are four bumper targets, several electrified cushions, several spinner targets, etc. One of the targets is the "ball splitter" (located in the lower center part of the table). If your ball goes over it (and its turned ON), you start earning double points AND an extra ball is put into play, so you've now got two balls to deal with simultaneously. There is a lot more to this game than I first realized. I use to just play the game using ONLY the two flipper buttons (like a naive pinball player). NOW I know about bumping the table (using the joystick), catching the ball with my flippers, saving the ball from the exit ramps, and specifically going after the "lit" targets. Incredible skill comes with practice and make the game fun to play over very long periods of time. Its an excellent simulation of a real pinball machine. The usual color overlay that accompanies Vectrex games is perfect this time, it really enhances the game display. Excellent sound too! I give it my highest rating!! A must for your Vectrex library. "WEB WARS" This 3D game is "really neat"! Its a bit difficult to describe though but here goes... In this game you control a bird which is flying through a 'U' shaped trough (actually it looks a lot like the inside of a piece of celery), trying to capture various "insects" for your trophie room. (Wherever do they come up with these scenarios)?? At the far end of the trough (which is out of sight, objects grow increasing faint with distance) something is releasing "star" shaped objects which BOUNCE slowly nearer along the edges of the walls. With your joystick you can maneuver your bird along the edges of the trough (using joystick left/right) and control your speed of travel (joystick up/down). You must maneuver the bird around the "stars" (which BOUNCE OF THE FACE OF TV SCREEN after you pass 'em, and head back down the trough after you) or shoot them with your gun. Every once in a while an insect like creature flies from the far end of the trough into view. You must press a button to extend your sword and skewer the little bugger. If you succeed a little square window appears at the far end of the tunnel... its your secret exit from the webbed trough to the trophie room. You must fly toward and through it to succeed (easy to do in the earlier parts of the game, difficult later on). If you miss this portal on your first try, no problem... another one appears at the far end of the trough. The only problem is that a dragon now hovers over it, making your departure more difficult. It hurrles fire balls at you! WEB WARS really shows the Vectrex off. The TV overlay makes the scenery look like your skimming the bottom of an ocean floor. It really looks kind of scary. The use of grey scale (dimmer lines) for objects farther away is perfect, and heightens the creepy effect (but you have to keep your brightness adjusted for maximum grey-scale otherwise it all washes out). The 3D effect is remarkable. When you shoot at the stars your bullets travel slowly down the trough like they are traveling a great distance. The way the stars explode when they are hit looks neat too. My only minor complaint about the game is that the sounds of your bullets can become a bit annoying if you play it for more than a 1/2 hour (the background noises are great). All in all, I'd say WEB WARS is as one of the 5 best games for the Vectrex (SPINBALL, WEB WARS, ARMOR ATTACK, MINE STORM, & STAR WARS are my favorites). I recommend playing this one in the dark!!