HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Agent USA'' is a 1984
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
designed to teach children spelling, US geography, time zones, and state capitals. It was developed by Tom Snyder Productions and published by Scholastic for the
Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
,
Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...
,
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
and
IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...
(as a
self-booting disk A self-booting disk is a floppy disk for home or personal computers that loads directly into a standalone application when the system is turned on, bypassing the operating system. This was common, even standard, on some computers in the late 1970 ...
).


Plot

A giant mutated television set known as the "Fuzzbomb" has begun infecting cities across America and turning people into walking balls of TV static. The player controls a secret agent assigned to defeat the Fuzzbomb and rescue fuzzed people.


Gameplay

Agent USA travels to different locations in the United States via normal or high-speed train (the latter only in large cities). Tickets are acquired at booths in each city. A list of available cities is presented and the player must type the name exactly as shown to get a train ticket. When the correct train shows up, it may be boarded for the next destination. Time zones change depending on what area of the country Agent USA is in. State capitals will also have an info booth which shows a map of the US along with fuzzed cities and the location of the Fuzzbomb (which moves around the country). The location of the Fuzzbomb can only be learned from stations at State capitals, so learning the capital city of each State is useful. The player begins the game with 10 crystals. If dropped on the ground and there's space adjacent to them, the crystals will begin to multiply into more, which can then be picked up. Civilians will try to grab them. They may be pushed out of the way, onto the next screen, or onto a train. Larger cities will have more sections at stations and more civilians. Cities are de-fuzzed by dropping crystals in the path of fuzzed people, turning them back into civilians. Some civilians will also be carrying crystals (the info map shows how many crystals are present in a city). Civilians are turned into fuzzed people when touched by a fuzzed person. If Agent USA is touched by a fuzzed person, it will drop the player's crystal inventory by half, rounded up. If touched while carrying none, Agent USA turns into an uncontrollable fuzzed person who will wander around aimlessly and board trains to different cities until he touches a crystal. Fuzzed people may also enter from a nearby contaminated city via train. The ultimate object is to acquire 100 crystals, mainly by growing them from dropping them on the ground and having them multiply, and enter the city with the Fuzzbomb. Agent USA then has to avoid all fuzzed people in the town the Fuzzbomb occupies, and then touch the Fuzzbomb to win the game.


Reception

'' Electronic Games'' reviewed the game in the October 1984 issue and appreciated its educational merits: "From a gamer's viewpoint ''Agent USA'' is one of the most successful educational titles now on the market. Unlike many learning programs, it stands up well as a fun activity." Jill Basset (age 13) who reviewed the game for ''K-Power'' magazine agreed: "What surprises and impressed me most about this game is that it really is educational! I was so caught up in having fun that I wasn't even thinking about the fact that map reading, U.S. geography, math and other kinds of skills were being exercised."


References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal , title=Computer Gaming , journal=Electronic Games , date=October 1984 , page=61-62 , url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Games_Volume_02_Number_15_1984-10_Reese_Communications_US/page/n61/mode/2up {{cite journal , title=Screening Room , journal=K-Power , date=September 1984 , page=58 , url=https://archive.org/details/k-power-magazine-07/page/n63/mode/2up


External links


''Agent USA''
at Atari Mania
''Agent USA''
Game of the Week at GameSpy Classic Gaming
''Agent USA''
at C64 Wiki 1984 video games Apple II games Atari 8-bit family games Commodore 64 games Children's educational video games Video games set in the United States Video games developed in the United States