Page 32 - Old School Gamer Magazine Issue #38 FREE Edition

5200 with this homebrew. By the way, the same game also exists for Atari 8-Bit computers.
ATARI 7800
are rendered in various colors instead of the white color from the
indicating the lives and peppers remaining instead of having the actual number of each appear. Also, the level indicator (by using burgers) is not included. Despite these visual changes, though, the game is excellent and a blast to play.
CONCLUSION
BurgerTime was one of those great games from the 80s that many of us enjoyed then and still enjoy today whether at the arcade or at home. Most home ports of BurgerTime captured the gameplay well, even if the visuals did not entirely match those of the arcade. Heck, one of
the best versions released back then was the Intellivision version and it doesn’t look exactly like the original. The game is so loved that clones were developed for home systems that did not get ports back then, like the Atari 5200 and 7800 consoles. The Intellivision even got an exclusive sequel to the game called Diner, which changed things by using pseudo-3D mazes while still keeping the same basic idea for the game.
I can easily say that BurgerTime
is a timeless game and one that
any video game player can enjoy. If you have not, for some reason, ever played this game, I suggest you find it and get to making burgers! ... Bon appétit!!!
Two years after Ken Siders released the excellent 5200 version of Beef Drop, he released a port to the
Atari 7800. The game looks better than on the 5200 version and the colors are brighter. The characters are nicely animated as well. What is different is that two versions of the game were made available.
One version used a POKEY chip
for sound, making the music and sound effects as good as those on the 5200 version. The other version was more of a “budget” version that used TIA sounds instead. Though this budget version did not take advantage of POKEY sound, the music and the sound effects are fairly well done. Nonetheless, I prefer the version with POKEY as the music is polyphonic and more accurate to the arcade original. As in the 5200 version, gameplay is very well reproduced. One thing that is different from the arcade (also true of the 5200 version),
is that the enemies have been renamed Frank, Mr. Yolk and Dr. Dill. Any fans of BurgerTime who own a 7800 need to have this game.
COLECOVISION
The ColecoVision port of BurgerTime was published by Coleco and released in 1984. Unfortunately, the name of the programmer is not known. This port is very well made and captures the gameplay from the arcade very well. The mazes follow the arrangement from the arcade, though the ladders
arcade. Where the game excels, though, is in the rendering and animation of the characters and the burger ingredients. These are all highly detailed and rendered
in more than one color. The sound effects and the music are also well reproduced. ColecoVision owners got a winner back in the day!
NES
The NES received an official port of BurgerTime programmed by Nintendo in 1987. This version
of the game is well done and it replicates the arcade mazes pretty well, with the only difference being the colors chosen for the ladders and the platforms. The burger ingredients look great as well. This
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OLD SCHOOL GAMER MAGAZINE • ISSUE #38
port also has the most arcade- accurate enemies for the player to contend with. Sound effects and music are almost arcade-perfect. Something that is different from the arcade is the layout for the score, extra lives, and the pepper. Unlike the arcade, all of these are at the top of the screen with numbers