Page 34 - Old School Gamer Magazine Issue #40 FREE Edition

ATARI 2600
Warlords was developed for the 2600 by Carla Meninsky using the
of Warlords are rather basic
when compared to their arcade counterparts. The castle walls are
just simple bars and they are all rendered in the same colors. The Kings and Dark Lords are rendered
in different colors
but they all look the same otherwise (like a sitting human?). The shields are also rendered in different colors (to match the castle icons) but lack any detail. The sound effects are also simple but they do what they are supposed to do. Again, what makes this game excellent is not how it looks but how it plays. There are 23 different game variations to choose
from, which allow for selection of number of players, differences in the speed of the fireball, and how the shields function. There are also three different versions of the game for kids to enjoy. Though the game can be enjoyed by one player, the AI on this game is not as challenging. This version of the game is really meant for playing against human opponents.
MEDIEVAL MAYHEM
was developed by Darrel Spice, Jr. and released in 2007. Unlike 2600 Warlords, this is intended to be a true port of the arcade version of the arcade game. Medieval Mayhem not only improved the graphics but also added features only found in the arcade game.
These include the launch dragon (that has been named Scarlet), multiple fireballs, and a level of polish missing from the original
2600 release. There is a menu to select options before starting the game that even includes music! The menu lets you select the number
of players, the speed of the balls, the maximum number of fireballs that can be on the playing field,
the ability to catch the fireballs,
the screen flash, and the number
of matches to win the game. The catch function of the game works just like in the arcade, where your own castle’s walls will degrade
the longer you hold onto the
fireball but it also lets you shoot
the fireball at a higher speed for more damage. Visually, this game looks much better than the 2600 Warlords. Though the castle walls are all the same color, the color is shaded and the icons within are clearly recognizable as a crown or
a dark lord helmet. The shield the player controls also matches the color of the icon within the castle but it is not as detailed as in the arcade version. This doesn’t really affect the gameplay, however. Scarlet the dragon looks fantastic! She is rendered in two colors and
is well animated. One really cool feature is the knight that walks on the playing field representing the winning player in their proper color. This knight is nicely animated and he even has a waving flag. Though music is only heard on the main title/menu screen, the sound effects
same storyboard by Roger Hector that Norm Avalaire and Craig Rivera used for the arcade version. The games were developed in parallel, so it is hard to call the 2600 version an actual port of the arcade game and likely accounts for the various differences in gameplay in both versions. Despite the limitations
of the 2600, Meninsky created a game with superb gameplay that transcends its limited graphics and which made this title the seventh most-sold title for the console. The 2600 version of Warlords does
not have a dragon shooting the fireball. The ball simply appears in the playing field to get the action started. The paddle controllers
are used, which allows up to
four players to compete or even cooperate to beat whoever is the leading the game. An interesting aspect of this version is that even
if a player is killed, their shields remain as ghost shields and they can still hit the fireball and have some effect on the game. These ghost shields are only seen if the screen flashes, so it is not easy to use them to alter the movement
of the fireball. The graphics
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OLD SCHOOL GAMER MAGAZINE • ISSUE #40