|
Rosen's Brigade
''Rosen's Brigade'' (shown on the loading screen without the apostrophe) is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Ron Rosen for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1983 by Gentry Software, a budget label of Datasoft. The player flies a fighter jet over a landscape, rescuing paratroopers falling from the top of the screen and shooting enemy air and ground vehicles. This is one of two games from Datasoft where the designer's name is part of the title. The other is ''O'Riley's Mine'' by Mark Riley. Gameplay The player flies a fighter jet left and right over a horizontally scrolling landscape of desert terrain and water. Shooting and destroying all enemy forces ends the level. Initially the attackers are planes and helicopters, then tanks appear on the ground and ships in the water. Parachutists (the term used in the manual) fall from the top of the screen and can be rescued for points by flying over them. A mini-map A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map HUD (video ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Datasoft
Datasoft, Inc. (also written as DataSoft) was a software developer and publisher for home computers founded in 1980 by Pat Ketchum and based out of Chatsworth, Los Angeles, Chatsworth, California. Datasoft primarily published video games, including ports of arcade video games, games based on licenses from movies and television program, TV shows, and original games. Like competitor Synapse Software, they also published other software: development tools, word processors, and utilities. Text Wizard, written by William Robinson and published by Datasoft when he was 16, was the basis for AtariWriter. Datasoft initially targeted the Atari 8-bit computers, Apple II, and TRS-80 Color Computer, then later the Commodore 64, IBM PC compatible, IBM PC, Atari ST, and Amiga. Starting in 1983, a line of lower cost games was published under the label Gentry Software. Datasoft went into bankruptcy, and its name and assets were purchased by two Datasoft executives, Samuel L. Poole and Ted Hoffman. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari 8-bit
The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 CPU and three custom coprocessors which provide support for sprites, smooth multidirectional scrolling, four channels of audio, and other features. The graphics and sound are more advanced than most of its contemporaries, and video games are a key part of the software library. The 1980 first-person space combat simulator ''Star Raiders'' is considered the platform's killer app. The Atari 800 was positioned as a high-end model and the 400 as more affordable. The 400 has a pressure-sensitive, spillproof membrane keyboard and initially shipped with a non-upgradable of RAM. The 800 has a conventional keyboard, a second cartridge slot, and allows easy RAM upgrades to 48K. Both use identical 6502 CPUs at ( for PAL versions) and coprocessor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrolling Shooter
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement, while others allow a broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives. The genre's roots can be traced back to earlier shooting games, including target shooting electro-mechanical games of the mid-20th-century, but did not receive a video game release until '' Spacewar!'' (1962). The shoot 'em up genre was established by the hit arcade game ''Space Invaders'', which popularised and set the general template for the genre in 1978, and has spawned many clones. The genre was then further developed by arcade hits such as ''Asteroids'' and ''Galaxian'' in 1979. Shoot 'em ups were popular throughout the 1980s to early 1990s, diversifying into a variety of subgenres such as scrolling shooters, run and gun ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari 8-bit Computers
The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 CPU and three custom coprocessors which provide support for sprites, smooth multidirectional scrolling, four channels of audio, and other features. The graphics and sound are more advanced than most of its contemporaries, and video games are a key part of the software library. The 1980 first-person space combat simulator ''Star Raiders'' is considered the platform's killer app. The Atari 800 was positioned as a high-end model and the 400 as more affordable. The 400 has a pressure-sensitive, spillproof membrane keyboard and initially shipped with a non-upgradable of RAM. The 800 has a conventional keyboard, a second cartridge slot, and allows easy RAM upgrades to 48K. Both use identical 6502 CPUs at ( for PAL versions) and coprocess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Jet
Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent the enemy from doing the same. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground attack and some types, such as fighter-bombers, are designed from the outset for dual ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
O'Riley's Mine
''O'Riley's Mine'' is an action game designed by Mark Riley and published in 1983 by Datasoft for Atari 8-bit computers. The game was ported to the Apple II by Larry Lewis and Commodore 64 by Al Rubin. Both ports were also released in 1983. Gameplay O'Riley must travel through his mine to capture all the buried treasure and return safely home again at the top of the mine shaft. He can be drowned by the onrushing water or eaten by the river monsters. Dynamite charges can be used to block the monsters' pathway, but it will be cleared again by the incoming water. Explosions can be timed so that a monster is blown away to gain extra points. The number of dynamite charges is dependent on the level of difficulty. There is no time limit, but the speed of water increases in higher levels. When the moon rises the monsters move faster through the mine shafts. The oncoming water rises to the highest level the player digs in the mine, so it is possible the water will block the player fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paratrooper
A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infantry armed with small arms and light weapons, although some paratroopers can also function as artillerymen or mechanized infantry by utilizing field guns, infantry fighting vehicles and light tanks that are often used in surprise attacks to seize strategic positions behind enemy lines such as airfields, bridges and major roads. Overview Paratroopers jump out of aircraft and use parachutes to land safely on the ground. This is one of the three types of "forced entry" strategic techniques for entering a theater (warfare), theater of war; the other two being by land and by water. Their tactical advantage of entering the battlefield from the air is that they can attack areas not directly accessible by other transport. The ability of airbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mini-map
A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map HUD (video games), HUD element that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to help players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details they display. Elements included on mini-maps vary by video game genre, but most minimaps feature at least one or more of the following: the position of the player character, allied units, structures, enemies, objectives, and surrounding terrain. Mini-maps have become common in real-time strategy and MMORPG video games because they serve as an indication of where the current screen lies within the scope of the game world. Most first-person shooter games also have some version or variant of the mini-map, often showing enemy and teammates locations in real-time. History Mini-maps have been around since the age of arcade video games. The term ''radar'' was used through the 1980s instead of ''mini-map''. ''Battl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defender (1981 Video Game)
''Defender'' is a 1981 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed by Williams Electronics for arcades. The game is set on either an unnamed planet or city (depending on platform) where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams; ''Defender'' was Jarvis's first video game project and drew inspiration from ''Space Invaders'' and ''Asteroids''. ''Defender'' was demonstrated in late 1980 and was released in March 1981. It was distributed in Japan by Taito. ''Defender'' was one of the most important titles of the golden age of arcade video games, selling over 55,000 units to become the company's best-selling game and one of the highest-grossing arcade games ever. Praise among critics focused on the game's audio-visuals and gameplay. It is frequently listed as one of Jarvis's best contributions to the video game industry and one of the most difficult video games. Thou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Coast Highway (video Game)
''Pacific Coast Highway'' (stylized as ''Pacific Coast Hwy'') is an action video game written by Ron Rosen for Atari 8-bit computers and published by Datasoft in 1982. It is a clone of ''Frogger,'' where the objective is to cross from the bottom of the screen to the top. The key differences are that in ''Pacific Coast Highway'' the road and water segments are split into separate, alternating, screens and it allows two-player simultaneous play. If either player dies, the level starts over. Ron Rosen later wrote the scrolling shooter '' Rosen's Brigade'' and platform game '' Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory'', both published in 1983. Gameplay Each player starts at the bottom of the screen and the goal is to reach the top. Player one is a rabbit and player two, if present, is a tortoise. The difference between the two is entirely visual, and the tortoise and hare theme is not present elsewhere. The first screen is the highway from the title, with eight lanes of traffic to avoid, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Nick
''Nuclear Nick'' is a platform game created for Atari 8-bit computers by Ron Rosen. It was released in 1986 by UK publisher Americana. The player controls the titular character, Nick, through a series of single-screen levels filled with obstacles and enemies, aiming to safely collect all nuclear waste. Gameplay The player assumes the role of Nick, tasked with cleaning up nuclear waste inside a reactor. The game is set across multiple levels filled with platforms, ladders, and elevators. The main objective is to collect all nuclear waste containers while avoiding killer robots and lightning bolts. Each level presents different obstacles like laser walls, moving platforms, and patrolling robots. Power-ups temporarily enable the player to destroy killer robots and earn points, while additional points are gained by collecting nuclear waste. The player has five lives to navigate through 20 increasingly challenging levels. Reception Bob Chappell, writing for ''Atari User'' magazine, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
