Gamer Rage

I'm not even sure this is a real thing to anyone but me, because maybe I have serious issues, but in the event there are others out there who suffer from this, let's talk about Gamer Rage.

Two years ago,  I had to take a break from almost all forms of video gaming, particularly classic gaming.  The reason:  video games were sending me into a blind rage.  I'm talking Wolverine level, berserker, "there's something very, very wrong with that guy" rage.  Think Road Rage, but with video games and no other offending party.

If I think back, getting irrationally angry at video games is something I have been doing for about 15 years, since I first got back into classic gaming.  It would flare up from time to time and then calm down and go away.  Usually it would be enough for me to get really pissed at a certain game, then I would put the game away, switch to something else, and all was cool.  But about two years ago, the rage went from being spikes on the graph to being a haze that clouded my entire gaming experience.  It would take about 10 minutes of one particularly frustrating game to just wreck the whole gaming session.  No matter what games I switched to, the fury burned inside me and would not go away.  Pretty soon, I was getting no joy whatsoever from one of my most favorite pastimes and stress relievers.  I was getting so worked up playing games, that I had to quit.  It was honestly affecting my regular life.  I was getting angry at something that was supposed to be fun and I was missing a critical source of everyday stress release.  It was bad.

So I quit.  I gave up almost all forms of video games.  Classic games had to go, no question.   I don't play many modern games, so that wasn't too much to give up, but I also shut down most of my app gaming.  (Those of you lamenting my departure from games like Smurf Village, Dragonvale and that Mermaid game will now understand that whole thing a little bit better).  I was reserved to playing a few inoffensive app games (Final Fantasy Record Keeper, the main one of late) and Minecraft, and that was about it.  Every now and then I would get the itch and I would dig out the NES or VCS and give it a try, but I could tell within minutes that it would be best if I stuck to the stuff that wasn't transforming me into angry Homer Simpson.

Since it was affecting my everyday life, I thought it was smart to talk it over with the wife.  She's a gamer too and she doesn't experience Gamer Rage, so I thought maybe she had some insight as to why I was having trouble.  "It's that stupid score book you keep and the fact that you won't play a game after you've beaten it or rolled the score.  You aren't having fun playing games anymore because you've made it too competitive."  And she was partly right.  From 2002-2008 I compiled a score book for all the VCS and NES games that kept score (and were worth playing).  During that time I pushed myself to the very limits of what I was capable of on a given game.  For example, my personal best Haunted House score on Game 9 is a completed game using only 2 matches and 7 lives remaining.  That's just stupid and virtually impossible to beat without blind luck.  Using that example, any time I would sit down to play Haunted House, perfection was just about the only goal.  So if a game used more than 7 lives or 2 matches, it was RESET.  As you might imagine this led to a  lot of RESET.  And since the goal is so lofty, lots of RESET built up lots of frustration and lots of frustration led to anger.

I did this to Baseball Stars II because I was mad at Battletoads.  Perfectly normal, perfectly healthy, right?

It should come as no surprise to anyone that one of the culminating factors in my decision to give video games a hard break was my participation in the Atariage.com High Score Club.  I was a player in the club for a couple of years and was having a really good time.  It was just for fun and was great to post scores up against fellow lovers of the VCS.  Then I got fairly high up in the rankings.  At one point I think I was jockeying for first through third place with a field of absurdly good players.  And the desire to be the best was too much.  I was playing games like a fiend.  I was playing games on emulators at work and playing right up to the deadline to try and keep my raking high.  And, I was getting angry when I wasn't in the top 3 on a given game.  So quitting the High Score Club (mid-season, no less) cold turkey was step one in defeating my Gamer Rage.

My wife was right, the level of competition was one of the major factors contributing to my Gamer Rage.  I was playing against increasingly higher stakes, whether it was my own personal best scores or other, incredibly skilled players.  But there was also another component and it seemed to stem from a lack of patience born of the pursuit of perfection.

Every time I played a game, I was expecting to be the best, at the top of my game, right from the start.  Anyone who plays video games at any level knows that some of the best games feature learning curves, sometimes big ones.  You can pick up Centipede right now and play one hell of a game, cold.  But if you play Centipede for 30 minutes or an hour, you'll likely find yourself in a groove where you and the game tune into each other and operate on a commiserate level.  It is at this point you might find that it is much easier to obtain high scores and avoid blunders that end your game prematurely.  Beamrider is a another game that comes to mind which thrives on this groove mentality.  I'm sure you have your favorites as well.

The problem was, every time I played a game like that, I expected to just be in the groove, from cold. I wasn't giving myself time to warm back up into a game I perhaps had not played for years.  I expected that I would be right back at my peak level just by plugging the game in and holding the controller.  From an outside perspective that certainly seems ridiculous, but from inside the mind of a gamer, driven by competition, even internal, this was just how it should be.  I know I can clear the first maze on Jr. Pac-Man without losing a life, therefore losing a life on the first maze is absolutely unacceptable.  Seems nutty, right?  But that's where I was at.  It was not going well at all and I didn't see any way clear of that mindset.  I once ripped the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (NES) cartridge from my system and launched it at the window (nearly breaking both) because I couldn't get past the barrels rolling through town. (and that game is riddled with glitches that actually make it impossible to beat!)

Several years ago, I participated in an experiment during my time at NintendoAge.com the goal of which was to determine the Top 25 most difficult NES games of all time.  Long time fans will recall the fruits of that ultimately unharvested labor were borne out here at EF.  (I'm proud to say it is one of the most popular features on this blog, still to this day people read it and talk about it, yay me!)  During that project, we were tasked with playing a good-sized list of NES games in order to determine the difficultly of the games and how to rank them.  The parameters of the experiment required us to play each game for a minimum of 5 hours of total game play.  Doesn't sound like much, but consider that two of the games on that list were Ikari Warriors and Conan.  Neither game lasts for more than about 45 seconds per play.  So imagine playing the same 45 seconds of Ikari Warriors, dying almost immediately, 300 times.  That required a LOT of patience.  And you know what?  I very nearly beat Conan and got way farther in Ikari Warriors than I could have ever hoped or wanted.  Why?  Because I stuck with it.  I pushed past the frustration and anger and annoyance that those games generate in absurd quantities, and I really got to know them, inside and out, and I really, honestly played them.  Sure those moments of clarity don't come until about 3 hours in, but they do come.  Honestly, that's how Uncanny X-men for the NES became one of my favorite games for that system.  I just stuck with it long enough to find the fun.  You can read all about here, if you missed it.

Considering the sources of my Gamer Rage, and the experience detailed above, I decided to try some new tactics to see if I could put the joy back into my gaming sessions.  First, I decided the score book would stay.  I worked hard for those records and they weren't going anywhere.  Keeping scores is part of my video game heritage, from my childhood days of gaming with my dad.  I couldn't give that up. However, I have some new rules for playing any classic game.  First,  I must play it a minimum of 5 times.  If I can't warm back up to a game within 5 attempts, then I just move on, play something else. Second, no RESETS.  No matter how dismally a game starts out, I play it through.  And that means play it through.  I'm all too tempted to get angry again and just run my ship into the asteroids 3 times so I can start over, but that doesn't help the situation.  It's like pinball. Pinball is a game of one ball. It really is.  You can play all 3 (or 5) balls in a pinball game and score all of your points on a single ball.  So if that first ball drains, you don't just TILT the machine.  Video games are much the same way.  So you die on the first maze on Jr. Pac-Man?  So what?  You may go three more mazes without dying on your next man.  I realize that this sounds like common sense to you non-enraged gamers out there, but for people where I was a few years back, this is a real coping mechanism and thus far I am happy to say it is working.

That isn't to say I don't find myself reverting back to the Incredible Gaming Hulk from time to time.  Of course I do.  You don't just fix a problem like this with an overnight epiphany.  However, I am back to where I am enjoying classic games and my gaming sessions are lasting much longer.  Those of you following my Atari 2600 Score-a-long over on the facebook page are seeing the results of this.

For me, at least, Gamer Rage is a real thing and it is something I, a lifetime gamer, find myself grappling with.  Honestly, I'm not a super competitive person, but in this one area, I found that I was vulnerable to that tendency.  I don't know if anyone else out there is noticing this as part of their gaming experience, but if you are, I strongly advise that you take a break.  Take a step back, look at how you are playing games.  Think about why you are getting angry during game play and consider what might be triggering it.  Then figure out how to combat it.  There are going to be strategies for setting the rage aside and returning the fun to video games.  If your games aren't fun, why are you playing?

Ultimate Guide to Tutankham for the Atari 2600

NOTE:  I am attempting to port over all of my old "Ultimate Strategy Guides" from the old Atarinvader.com site (circa 2002).  The site is archived somewhere deep in the annals of the internet and that is my only resource for retrieval.   I apologize that for right now these will be text only, but I hope to migrate them all over at some point and revitalize them for everyone's enjoyment!  Thanks   

Ultimate Guide to Tutankham 

by yer ol’ pal Stan

This game gets a lot of flack from arcade purists because the poor old VCS cannot handle a true arcade port; however Parker Bros. Tutankham is an excellent game if you don’t care about its arcade origins. The premise is fun, the action is faced paced, and there is enough of the arcade carried over here that the spirit of the game is not totally lost in the translation (on top of all of that, the manual is very well written and gives you lots of neat Egyptian stuff to read about) You don’t have to like it as an arcade port, but if you approach it as a game on its own merits, Tutankham can be a very enjoyable run-and-shooter.

But enough! You did not come here to have me defend the game; you are looking for tips and tricks, so let’s get to it! Tutankham is based on a very cool idea: you are a tomb raider (before such a thing was cool) exploring the secret chambers of King Tut’s tomb (all 4 of them). As you race through the ancient tunnels you are ambushed on all sides by creatures trapped in the catacombs for thousands of years, and man are they hungry (ahem). All you have in your defense is a gun and a handful of flares! So let’s talk basics.

1. Do not get killed.

2. Find the Key that will unlock the door to the next set of catacombs.

3. Find the locked door and proceed to the next level.

4. Along the way, claim as many ancient treasures as you can!

Sounds simple, right? Well its not! Creatures pop out of nests at the worst times, usually just as you grab that sacred ruby or some such. Your supply of bullets gets used up quickly as you fend of the monsters on your way to the exit. The labyrinth is a true maze and if you are not looking you can get trapped. Each catacomb is a maze full of secret passages and carefully guarded relics. So to help you out, yer ol’ pal Stan is going to give you a guided tour of each Burial Chamber so you don’t get lost and you can rack up the big scores! So put on your hat with the little flashlight thingy on top, because we are going in search of the lost tomb of King Tutankham (and maybe we’ll find out why they misspelled his name: see also Tutankhamen?)

(SPOILER WARNING: This is a COMPLETE walkthrough of this game. If you don’t want something ruined, please read ONLY the GENERAL TIPS section at the end.)

(COOLNESS ALERT! If you would like to view the ENTIRE map of each Burial Chamber at once, please visit (PLEASE NOTE:  This link is from 2002 and is, sadly, dead.  Ben had an amazing map) Pitfall Harry’s Map Room here: Ben Valdes has worked incredibly hard to create these beautiful maps for Tutankham and they are definitely worth a look. I could not have compiled this guide without the help of these maps! Enjoy!)

BURIAL CHAMBER 1

(Please consult the manual for creature and treasure images, I will be referring to them by the names given there)

You start out right in the thick of the action. Directly beneath you are a creature nest and the all too important key. This is as basic as you get, blast the critters, nab the key and get out of there! Your only escape is the not-so secret passage below the starting point.

The next two treasures will require a little more skill. You can run right over and grab the Silver Crown, but a creature will sprout from the nest below! Quickly run back to the left and the creature will pursue in the tunnel below. Suddenly reverse direction, drop into the tunnel with the creature (usually a Scorpion) and blast it! Then drop down and pick up the Royal Ring. As you come back up, another creature will generate (usually a Royal Cobra), blast it and proceed to your right.

Now you will build on the strategy you just used to nab the Ruby. The Ruby is dead opposite you in the tunnel, but two creature nests below will make getting any further very frustrating! Run left as fast as you can, a creature will pop out of the nest on the left (often the Giant Bat). If you move fast enough, the creature will follow you left in the tunnel below and become “stuck” in the nest. Grab the Ruby and head down the central passage. Blast any chasing creatures and get below as quickly as possible.

The giant bat is stuck in the nest and will not pursue when you drop into the tunnel

Things get a little trickier! You can see the Gold Chalice just ahead, no sweat! Problem is, it’s a trap! As soon as you grab the Chalice a monster will spring from an unseen nest below. There is no way to get into the large room and shoot the beast in time, so do this instead. Stand in front of the room’s doorway as the creature approaches. When it gets close, lure the creature into the tunnel with you by running right. Blast it! Now try to enter the room. If a new creature spawns, repeat the above “lure” trick. Keep doing this until you can safely enter the room (there is a 2 or 3 second gap in creature generation after every five or six releases). Enter the room and bear left as fast as you can. This will put you in the alcove with the Gold Crown. (A creature may be chasing you as you enter the alcove, blast it before you get the Gold Crown). Now pop out of the alcove, and blast your way across the room to freedom (well kinda’).

You are almost out! All that lies between you and the exit is a secret passage and a creature nest. Zip through the passage, a monster will spawn, blast it and make for the door! Open it, take the Map, and proceed to Burial Chamber 2!!!

BURIAL CHAMBER 2

All of the skills you just picked up will be used in the second catacomb, only things will get much harder quickly!

When you start out all looks peaceful, but there is a creature nest dead ahead that will give you headaches! As you move left, a creature will spawn from the nest below left (they generally spawn in this order: Turtle, Jackals, and finally Blue Condor, usually after several Jackals). DO NOT ENTER THE TUNNEL WITH IT!!! Instead lure it up into the upper tunnel with you by moving back right. Blast the creature. If another spawns use the lure trick again. Finally, when that “generation gap” occurs make your way into the lower tunnel, but be quick, you need to grab that Gold Crown from the lower alcove as you run. If any creatures spawn while you are in the lower tunnel, blast them of course. (Don’t worry about the nest on the right, it will be inactive for at least the first 3 rounds). After grabbing the Gold Crown, run right and grab the Ring from the upper alcove.

Do not rush down into the next set of passages, wait until a new creature spawns from the nest at the start of the game, (don’t wait to see the creature, hearing the “slurping” sound is enough), then run down through the zigzag passage QUICKLY! If done correctly you will miss the first creature that will spawn from the new nest below. (Do not worry about the nest on the left it will be inactive for several rounds) You may need to blast a creature before you continue down the zigzag passage.

Ok, so the screenshot made my guy disappear, but stand right above the downward path and wait for the enemy to spawn, then dash down

It’s the KEY! Carefully tucked away in an alcove right above a nest! A tight spot indeed! Drop into the tunnel with the nest and start shooting. Hit the creature as it leaves the nest, grab the key and then get out (blasting behind you as you run). This is a true hit and run situation, timing is of the utmost importance. Drop into the lower alcove and access the secret passage. Take a breath.

Directly below you is a very large room. Along the left wall lies the Emerald. Bottom-center of the room sports a nest and a very narrow exit. A tricky spot, but you can use a trick of your own to reduce the danger: Get in, get out! Wait in the alcove at the top of the room. Drop down ever so slightly and allow a creature to spawn. DO NOT go any deeper into the room than the first step once the creature appears! The creature will come straight up at you. As it comes, run to the niche in the left or right wall (If you run left, the creature will follow you up along the wall, if you run right the creature will continue straight up and then come at you). When the creature is on your level, blast it and make for the emerald. If a new creature spawns, repeat the above niche trick, if not grab the Emerald and make for the exit below. (If a creature is generated after you grab the Emerald its best to repeat the niche trick again to access the exit). Creatures will still generate after you leave the room, but few can manage the narrow gap to get at you, mostly they will get stuck. (The Turtle is the exception; he will pursue you into the catacombs below!)

Believe it or not, you can grab the Goblet without shooting anything or having to look over your shoulder! But you are about to begin the mad dash to the exit! In the tunnel below, a creature will spawn from the nest in the center and start to hunt you. VERY CAREFULLY, lure the creature into the tunnel you are in and blast it! (Don’t let it get “stuck” in one of the holes in the top of the tunnel or you’ll have to drop into the tunnel to blast it, not a good idea) Drop into the tunnel, grab the Bust and start blasting as creatures pop out of the central nest again! Head right and drop into the tunnel below!

Four Nests and a Vase are all that’s left! A creature will spawn from the right nest in the tunnel below (the left nest is inactive) and start hunting you. If you are fast you can run left and drop into the tunnel with it and blast it. If not, you will have to lure it up into the uppermost tunnel and then make your way down. Once you are in the middle tunnel keep blasting any creatures that may spawn. When you reach the right side, DO NOT drop into the lowest tunnel! Wait for a new creature to spawn from the nest right next to you (Again, don’t wait until you see the creature, just listen for the “slurp”), as soon as it generates, drop into the lowest tunnel and run left as FAST as possible. When done correctly, you will NOT encounter a creature in the lowest tunnel.

Open the locked door, take the Vase and proceed to Burial Chamber 3!!!

BURIAL CHAMBER 3

Now things get hard! Chamber 3 is a much tougher ride and you will have to combine all of your skills and wits to survive and grab ALL of the treasures! Here we go!

You will start in a passage on the left. Both the Trident and the Ring are available for pick-up and are well guarded by a hyper active nest, but if you start out with a plan, getting both can be very easy. Try this: Drop into the tunnel with the nest and shoot the Snake. Run left and grab the Ring from the lower room. Pop up and blast the Lion. Run right. Turn and shoot the emerging Moth. Run up and grab the Trident. A new creature will spawn and wander. Sit in the Trident tunnel until it wanders away, then drop into the tunnel and blast it! You may run left or right, but get down to the lowest hallway. Creatures rarely chase you any further. (Creatures spawn the way I listed above 95% of the time)

There is only one passage to the tunnel below in the center of the hall. A creature will spawn from the right nest below (the left is inactive for now). If the creature is a MOTH, lure it up into the tunnel with you and blast it, then try again. If the creature is NOT a Moth, run to your left and the creature will follow you in the tunnel below. Quickly reverse direction, drop into the tunnel and blast it. Be ready to blast any other creatures that may spawn as well. Run right and access the secret passage.

Here the lion is tracking you, but he is too slow to catch you if you reverse direction and drop down and shoot

You can pick up the Herb no problem. The next section is made of two parallel tunnels. The top tunnel holds the Diamond in an upper alcove. The bottom holds two ACTIVE nests (that usually spawn Moths and Lions). You can use the two passages between the tunnels to your advantage. Drop into the upper tunnel. When a creature spawns, lure it up and blast it. Make your way to the Diamond and then work your way down into the lower tunnel. Drop through the exit in the center. CAUTION: A creature may follow you, keep your eyes open.

The next room is very odd. The entire right side, the larger chamber, is completely empty (there are a few inactive nests on the right wall). The narrow left side holds the Key and the game’s first invisible nest in the upper middle. The best way to get from the right side to the left is a small crevice in the center of the broken dividing wall. A moth will spawn (95% of the time, the other 5% usually sees a Lion). DO NOT enter the left side with the Moth, draw it into the right side with you, and then blast it. (More ideally, shoot the creature just as it enters the crevice in the wall, while running at it!) After killing the Moth run into the left side and up into the alcove with the Key. Head straight down very, very quickly. If done fast enough, you will dodge the monster spawning on your heels. If not you may have to waste a flare or run back into the right side of the room. The new monster may follow you through the passage below, keep your eyes open and shoot behind you as you move.

Moths tend to spawn one right after the other, but there is often a gap between other creatures.  Kill all of the moths and when something new spawns, kill it and make your move on the key.

The final section is very unusual and features one of the best “cheats” in the game! The upper tunnel features a series of long dead ends and terminates in a final down passage on the far right. This is where the cheat comes in. Straight down that passage is an active nest (note: both nests in that tunnel are active!) that will spawn the moment it is visible. DO NOT waste a flare! Instead, sneak down the passage until you hear the “slurp” of a creature being spawned. IMMEDIATELY reverse direction and head back up the passage. The creature will not appear if done correctly. Reverse direction again and head back down the passage. If you do not hear a “slurp,” all is clear and you may descend into the lower tunnels. If you do hear a “slurp,” repeat the “cheat” again. Once in the lower tunnels, keep your ears open. Creatures can spawn from either nest and come at you. 

Make your way over to the Candelabra and then down to the locked door. Grab the Cat Statue and get ready for the toughest Chamber yet!!!

BURIAL CHAMBER 4

This is the toughest chamber by far. You will have to use all of your old tricks plus learn some new ones if you plan to reach Tut’s tomb! And we start off with a bang!

Be ready for action the minute you start the Chamber. Immediately make your way to the secret passage in the center of the maze and zip to the other side. Quickly hide in the annex below the secret passage. A Virus will usually spawn first and slowly follow you into the annex. Blast it and run up so that you stand directly left of the nest. A Monkey will usually spawn, SHOOT IT! Then run past the nest, snag the Key from the alcove and be ready to shoot another Monkey. Make a break for the secret passage again and zip back across (because a Mystery Weapon can pop out of the nest and kill you).

Get here immediately and then wait to kill the virus when it comes down, then haul ass for that key

The large room below hides an invisible nest in the upper right corner. This nest LOVES to spawn those Mystery Weapons. Be ready at all times. You will need to blast the creatures that spawn, grab the Neck Ring and make a break for the central exit (the nest lies directly above the Neck Ring). Rarely will they be able to squeeze through the crevice to pursue you. 

The next series of tunnels can be tough. Drop into the tunnel with the two nests. The left nest is inactive, but the right nest and the nest in the right passage below it are both active! Something will spawn from the right nest and come for you, blast it! Run right and up into the annex above. Grab the Amulet, and get back down, quickly. A new creature will spawn, blast it and head down the right passage. (If you are not fast enough, a creature can spawn from the lower passage nest and you will have to lure it out or waste a flare.)

Zip through the secret passage, and a creature will spawn from the nest above the passage. This is the ONLY time in the game you should use a FLARE. (This is the only way I know of to get the Fan) Use a FLARE, snag the fan from the hallway, and run down the passage. A creature may pursue if you are too slow. Lure it down into the tunnel below and blast it.

If you don't use a flare, your timing will have to be perfect to get the fan

The next treasure will take some skill to get. The nest in the center of the maze will spawn mostly Monkeys and Weapons and often two at a time. When a creature spawns, run just right-of center in the tunnel above. The creature will follow in the jagged hallway below and get “stuck.” Get the Crystal while you are at it. If a second spawns you can “trap” it the same way (occasionally it will “stick” in the nest itself). Once you have trapped the creatures, return left and make your way down to the Zircon. This next bit is VERY tough. Carefully lure the “trapped” creatures into the small hallway with you and blast them. No new creatures will spawn until both are destroyed (95% of the time). When both are destroyed, drop down the right passage and into the final room.

If you stand here, the enemy will get stuck where that monkey is and you can pursue from the right without (much) fear.

There are only two nests in this giant room, both are active and both are in the worst possible place. The only treasure is the Dagger, but it’s worth the trip! The left nest is the most active but the right nest can surprise you at the worst times, so don’t dally around it! Here’s how I get the Dagger and get out safely: Follow the right most passage past the right nest. Go all the way down and out of the main room. Travel past the locked door at the bottom of the Chamber and start back up the left passage (if you unlock the door, the Chamber will be completed and you will not get the Dagger). QUICKLY, move toward the Dagger. Grab it and immediately reverse direction. A creature will spawn from the nest above (99% of the time it’s a Mystery Weapon). As fast as possible, return down the left passage. The creature will usually get stuck along the way and be unable to follow.

Now you are free to unlock the final door and claim Tutankham’s Mask for yourself! But don’t rest on your laurels, you are about to embark on the quest again, only this time its MUCH more difficult.

GENERAL TIPS:

Here are some things to help you along the way.

TIP: You don’t have to see a creature to shoot it. Once you hear the “slurping” sound that precedes creature generation, SHOOT! You won’t see the creature, but you will see the “explosion” from its destruction. This can save you a lot of time in tight situations and get you a few extra points once you learn the generation routines.

TIP: Creatures generate in sequence. Usually one or two will spawn, followed by a 2 or 3 second gap. Then more will generate. Occasionally the number will increase to 4, 5 or 6 between the “generation gap.” You can use this time to slip by dangerous nests. As the game difficulty ramps the number released will increase.

TIP: Some nests are inactive early in the game, but become active more regularly as the difficulty ramps. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times each round. Be ready for unpleasant surprises!

TIP: Nests usually cannot spawn if they are off screen. You can use this to your advantage to keep troublesome nests quiet. There are exceptions, though, so use with caution.

TIP: If a creature leaves the screen, it is usually gone. If you run fast enough up and down you can run creatures off the screen and not have to worry about them. Of course, this could also get you in bigger trouble. Know your catacombs well before running around all willy-nilly.

TIP: You will get an extra FLARE each time you complete Burial Chamber 4. Budget your FLARE usage carefully. To avoid wasting FLARES during movement, remember that you CANNOT shoot up or down; therefore there is no reason to press the red button if you are moving thus. Lay off the trigger finger. Learn when and how to use your gun effectively, plus you will conserve ammo. (Important later in the game!)

TIP: You probably won’t have to worry about conserving ammo in the first two rounds, just blast away. Once you get to the third or fourth round of searching the tombs, your bullets will really drain. Conservation of ammo can make or break you.

TIP: The collision detection in this game is not the best. Avoid close calls at all costs. You may think you can blast a creature as you run past, but too often the creature will get you first. When possible, shoot from a distance. I call this shoddy collision detection “Tut’s Curse.”

Questions, comments, tips of your own? Let me know! I’m always happy to answer feedback and include your stuff!

Final note: The above guide is for the cart version of Tutankham; the information may be inaccurate if you play the game on an emulator.

My best score on Tutankham is 2610

Stan

Jawbreaker!

For the first time in well over a year I added a new game to my Atari 2600 collection.  I've been collecting for the 2600 for over 10 years in a transparent attempt to regain or relive (you choose) my childhood.  In that time I have amassed a silly amount of Atari 2600 games.  At this point my collection has reached a threshold:  all of the games I need are either on the rare side (some extremely so) or they are ridiculously common and I usually balk at paying more than a couple of dollars for them.  So these days when a new game comes along, it is cause for celebration, and hopefully lots and lots of playing the new game.

The newest addition to my 2600 collection is the Tigervision game Jawbreaker!  Jawbreaker is only moderately rare (a rarity 5 on the Atariage ranking), but has eluded me for some time.  My good friend Deatrick recently went to a classic gaming show in Columbus, OH and there purchased it for me.  I paid $25, a bit higher than I would usually go for a rarity 5 game, but since this one has been outstanding for so long, I went for it.



The game cartridge itself is in pretty good condition with some glue soaking through the label due to age (in nerd circles we refer to that as "Actiplaque" as it is most common with Activision games), and some minor peeling on the end label.  But all in all it is in good shape.  Tigervision had the cool gimmick of putting some of their games in colored carts, so they look extra cool in the collection.  Jawbreaker has a red cartridge, which will look really cool above my King Kong Tigervision cart which is blue!

But I don't buy games just to look good on a shelf (it is a nice perk though).  I buy games to play them.  Tigervision has a wildly inconsistent library of games that are for the most part playable, but often marred by blocky (even for the VCS) graphics that lack the refinement of games by companies like Parker Bros. or Activision.  Likewise the game play is often reduced down and simpler than it has the potential to be.

Jawbreaker tows that line very well.  The game is a Pac-man clone with elements of Turmoil or maybe Taz thrown in for good measure.  You are a pair of jaws set loose in a candy store.  Your job is to eat through eight screens of candy bars while avoiding the Smiling Face enemies that roam the maze looking to chomp on you.  Three times per maze, an energizer will appear in the center of the screen.  Eating this energizer will allow you to turn the tables on the Smiling Faces and chomp them instead.  Extra lives are awarded every other round.


The difference between Jawbreaker and a game like Pac-man is the build of the maze.  Unlike the static maze featured in Pac-man, the maze in Jawbreaker is constantly shifting.  Each wall of the maze features a single passage through to the next row.  This passage is constantly moving horizontally across the screen.  In addition to the passage in the maze wall, you can also go around the ends of the maze wall to enter the next row.  This provides some serious challenge since your escape route is never assured, at least not while in the middle of a row.

The Smiling Face enemies only appear one at a time in a row and there are only four of them in total.  This means that there will always be at least half of the rows on the screen unoccupied. However, the Smiling Faces can change direction at any given time and can reappear in any unoccupied row at any time.  They cannot use the passages nor go around the end of maze walls. Like in Pac-Man, eating the energizer gives you a brief window where you can eat the Smiling Faces and/or clear candy bars in peace.

Toothbrush or torture device?

As you progress, the Smiling Faces move faster and faster and seem to make better decisions on how to attack and corral you.  The AI doesn't seem to change when you eat an energizer, so occasionally the Smiling Faces will run right into you when you are the aggressor.  When you clear a level you get an interesting intermission where a double-sided tooth brush comes and cleans up your act.  Very strange.

You get three lives in all with the potential to earn up to 3 more (you may only have 3 maximum at any time, so go ahead and waste one at the end of every other round if you like).  The game's instruction manual seems to indicate that there are only 8 levels, but it does not say what happens at the end of level 8.  I have been playing for a couple of hours and have made it to level 4, but the difficult gets serious as the Smiling Faces get faster.

But is it fun?  Yeah, kind of.  I mean, I'd rather play Ms. Pac-man on the 2600, but Jawbreaker does not give a let down experience.  It is still fun to play, it's just not incredibly fun to play.  I would not recommend this game to you in deference to better, similar games on the system.  Graphically, it's alright.  It doesn't need much in the way of flash and it definitely does not overachieve in that capacity either.  I'll probably play it more than once, and I'll probably play it for high scores until I manage to get to the end of screen 8, but it's not going to make any best games lists.  I will say that it was worth $25 to fill a gap in my collection with a game that is moderately playable, but that may also be time talking since there has been such a drought in finding new games for my collection.

My advice to you?  There are far better games of this genre out there for the Atari 2600.  Go play one of them.  From a collecting standpoint, Jawbreaker is a rarity 5, but to be honest the value is more in the $15 dollar range than the $25 I paid.  If you can get it for $8, you've got a good deal there.

All of that said, it is nice to have a new game in my collection after far too long.  Now to find Espial, a game I have been after for about 6 years....

(For more information on Atari 2600 games and collecting check out www.atariage.com and www.atarimania.com)

Too Many Games 11

Dateline: Philadelphia PA
May 6-8, 2011

The Greater Philadelphia Convention Center was packed to the rafters with gamers, nerds, internet celebrities and pretty much everything you'll never find at the cool kid's house.  The reason: The 11th installment of Too Many Games Classic and Modern Video Game Convention and Expo.  For the last several years, the awesome organizers at Too Many Games have been putting together what is becoming the East Coast's premier video game show, creating a much needed replacement for the once heralded PhillyClassic that self-destructed in the mid-aughts (that's between 2000-2009 for you youngsters out there).

Too Many Games is celebration of all things video games and this year's show was a prime example of that philosophy.  In what is to my knowledge their largest venue ever, TMG filled the expanse of two convention halls and a couple of ancillary rooms in the convention center.  I'll break it down in greater detail later, but to summarize, one hall was dedicated to LAN gaming (which went around the clock) and free play consoles, the other hall was filled with vendors swapping all kinds of video games and video game paraphernalia.(much more on this later).  The smaller rooms were bustling with video game themed bands and a wide variety of panels and seminars on topics ranging from how to make your own game to video games as art.  There was even a concession stand right there on site. Regular convention goers will understand the significance of this.  The only thing really missing was a stand of arcade machines set on free play.  Had that been there, the scene would have been complete.

Lack of free-play Mr. Do! notwithstanding, TMG11 was an incredible show.  I was there in a co-venture with Podkayne Studios (the lovely wife's real job) selling pixel art, but that didn't stop me from taking in as much as I could of what the show had to offer, and at least a half dozen hot pretzels...
Before I get into my main focus of the show, I'll break down some of the other cool stuff that people were jazzed about.  First and foremost is probably the two-day appearance by the Angry Video Game Nerd.  Lesser nerds love this guy.  He's more popular than Columbo.  I kid you not, there was a line through one exhibit hall, down the hallway, and out the door to meet this guy and get an autograph.  It was crazy.  All due respect to the dude, though, he seemed like a real down to earth cat who wasn't letting internet fame go to his head.  Smart guy, he clearly gets it and was appreciative of the turn out.  Although, I heard rumblings of a movie in the works, which oft spells doom for culty followings like this.  It killed that Aqua Teen Hunger Force the kids were all a-buzz about a few years ago.  Let's hope the Angry Nerd can escape that fate.

She'd even speak to you!

Also on hand was actress and model Chase Masterson.  Ms. Masterson is perhaps best known in these circles for her portrayal of Leeta on the final seasons of DS9.  She was at the convention all three days and was very gracious and appreciative of her fans.  I only spoke to her in passing, but she was as cool as if we were old friends.  Again, it is nice to see people who get it.  This is one of Femme Fatale's 50 Sexiest Women in the World and she was just hanging out talking to fans and signing autographs like regular folks.  Very cool.  Ms. Masterson also accepted donations of anything video game related to help out Homeboy Industries (http://www.homeboy-industries.org/) a non-profit organization that helps at risk teens build a better life.  Again, very cool.  Check her out at http://www.chasemasterson.com and open your mind a bit and look at more than just the pictures pages, yes?
(continued elsewhere after this break...)