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///////////////////////////////// adamX Synopsis (March 04, 2010) //////////////////////////////
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                                      Synopsis Compiled By:

                                    Gilou9999 & RessurectionX

                                    Edited By: RessurectionX

PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THE MASTER FILE UNLESS YOU'VE BEEN DESIGNATED THE HOLDER OF THE "HOT POTATO".
                                 THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION

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/////////////////////////////////// KEY & TABLE OF CONTENTS ////////////////////////////////////
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(TOP)
(1_1) LICENSED
(2_1) PROTOTYPES
(2_2) HOMEBREW
(3_1) ADAM GAMES

BROWSING/EDITING NOTES:

Looking for a specific letter of the alphabet? Try typing your letter followed by a few astericks into the Find window.....

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The Genre List, so far:

Action-Adventure
Beat 'em Up
Board Game
Edutainment
Flight Simulator
Game Show
Graphical Adventure - Point and Click
Light Gun
Maze
Movie Adaptation
Party
Platformer
Racing
Role Playing Game
Run and Gun - Top Down
Shoot 'em Up - First Person
Shoot 'em Up - Fixed Shooter
Shoot 'em Up - Isometric Scroller
Shoot 'em Up - Horizontally Scrolling
Shoot 'em Up - Multi-Directional
Shoot 'em Up - Vertically Scrolling
Shoot 'em Up - Rail Shooter
Shoot 'em Up - Tube Shooter
Shooting Gallery
Simulation
Sports - Basketball
Sports - Boxing
Sports - Competitive Events
Sports - Football
Sports - Golf
Sports - Hockey
Sports - Poker
Sports - Pool
Sports - Skateboarding
Sports - Skiing
Sports - Tennis
Strategy - Turn-Based
Text-Based Adventure
Video Pinball
Vehicular Combat

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The "Players:" List, so far:

1
1 or 2 Alternating
1 or 2 CO-OP
1 or 2 VS
1 or 2 VS; CO-OP
1 to 3 VS
1 to 4 CO-OP
1 to 4 VS
1 to 8 VS

Controllers:

Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Expansion Module #2 - Steering Wheel Controller
Roller Controller

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c575a831
2010: The Graphic Action Game
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
_________________________
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The year is 2010. You are on a space ship, when electronic malfunctions occur. Your job is to go around the ship and fix everything you can find wrong with it before it gets pulled into the Sun.

Being a game over twenty years old, we are lucky that it has color. The graphics are what you would expect of a twenty year old game, kind of pixelized, and not a huge choice in color. But, for those of you who grew up with this vintage system, it might bring back some memories.

Directions:

It really isn't that sophisticated. You go throughout the ship and complete the circuits that you find. If you get hit by the floating orb while trying to complete the circuit, that part of the circuit will get fried.

Also, if you try to run the current through the same chip more than once, you will blow that chip. You then have to repair it before you can finish completing the circuit.

You have to complete each circuit in the ship in order to get moving and avoid falling into the sun. You will probably have to go back and repair circuits that have blown since you completed them. Also you have to press 0 to start up the ship once your repairs are done. You can't win the game until you do.

Controls:

D-Pad/ Joystick: Pick path of Current, Move Repair Droid
A Button: Advance electric current, Select circuit, Repair chip
B Button: Advance electric current, Select replacement chip
0 Key: Start Ship
Minus Key: Pause, Restart Game

Hints:

Quick, but Risky; It is possible to win the game without completing all repairs. You can press 0 at any time to try to activate the ship. It will at least get you further away from the sun, but may also blow up some of the circuits you have already completed, so in he long run it will create more work for you. I would only recommend it if you are about to crash into the sun and you just need a little extra time.

Reviewer: superdoccy
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/2010_graphic_action_game.html
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9cc3fabc,52b61431
Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1985
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Telegames
Players: 1
_________________________
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In this adventure game you control an explorer who's on his way to fortress Alcazar. To reach Alcazar you are travelling through a countryside of fortresses and you need to collect several items that you can find along the way. Once you enter the Alcazar fortress you have to search for the crown.

The strategy map gives you an overview of the countryside, it's fortresses and your location in it. What perils lurk in these mysterious castles? Which path is quick and safe? The Alcazar castle is three stories high, all other castles have only two stories. To enter a castle you just have to follow the path. Each castle has it's own sought-after objects and these objects are always guarded by the castles main demon. Objects to look for are for example: a rope, a gun, raw meat, water or a raft. Collect them and use them properly to master the legendary Alcazar fortress.

The game gives you clues and tells, for example, which monsters are nearby. Some monsters are really hard to kill. 

The game can be played at four difficulty levels.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/alcazar-the-forgotten-fortress
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4ffb4e8c
Alphabet Zoo
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spinnaker Software
Publisher: Spinnaker Software
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
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Alphabet Zoo is a top-view game where the player races around a maze, avoiding enemy creatures. The twist however is that each maze has a graphic representation of an object in the middle... and it is up to the player to collect the letters scattered around the maze, in the correct order, to spell the name of the object. Difficulty can be adjusted to focus on consonants, vowels or the entire alphabet.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/alphabet-zoo
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78a738af
Amazing Bumpman
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Telegames, Inc.
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
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A maze game of sorts, throwing in some basic addition, subtraction know-how across four skill levels. A prototype was found in 2003 with the game's original title "Number Bumper".
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275c800e
Antarctic Adventure
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
_________________________
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YOUR SOUTH POLE ADVENTURE

WANTED: Fearless explorers for Antarctic Adventure! Must be willing to travel. High tolerance for cold a must. Salary: all the fish you can catch! Fringe benefits: high adventure and lots of fun! Apply Admiral Bird.

Join a polar expedition as you help a spunky penguin explorer speed through ten Antarctic ice stations. Race against the clock to help him be the first penguin to circle the South Pole!

As you travel around the South Pole, icy crevasses appear with surprising suddenness! Leap over them and continue your adventure. Hop over ice puddles or glide around them. Watch out - playful, curious seals may pop up at any moment to surprise you! Capture the flags scattered over the ice and snap up the flying fish for extra points.

--From the Colecovision Antarctic Adventure instruction manual.

Overview:

This is a pretty tough little game where you speed around a track as a little penguin. The little black bullet is downright comical looking. The graphics aren't all that bad, but they aren't that complex either. The animation is smooth, but the scenery is bleak. You're in the Antarctic so there's a whole lotta white. The music is simple and not bothersome. The sound effects amount to just little blips and bleeps, but they let you know what's going on. The gameplay and style is very similar to 3D World Runner (which I love) but it doesn't have as many items. The only items in this game are fish and flags.

Directions:

Race to the finish!

When it says "Press any key" at the beginning, it's a lie. Just press the minus key on your keyboard. If you find yourself being cut off in the middle of the level after just a little bit of play, and then being taken back to the start screen, congratulations, you've been playing the demo.

I did this about twenty times before I figured out what was going on.

Press forward (Up) to go faster, and back (Down) to slow down. You don't have to keep pressing forward to maintain speed or back to remain slower. When your speed meter at the top right corner is where you want it, you can let off and the game will automatically maintain that speed. This frees you up to dodge like crazy. Watch out for the aforementioned cracks in the ice and seals. If you run into one, you do a jig to the side and it wastes considerable time (not to mention it's very annoying). The seals are particularly treacherous since you will be tempted to jump over them but you can't! They are too tall! If you run into a huge crack, as opposed to the small, round, ice-fishing looking ones, you will be stopped until you jump over it if you are caught on the front side. If you just catch the edge of it you will do that little jig I mentioned.

Catch the fish and tag the flags for extra points. This is really difficult at top speeds. The fish don't land on the ice to be picked up, so jump up and catch them as they fly out of the round holes. You don't have to be right next to the hole to catch a fish. As long as the picture of the penguin covers the picture of the fish, you caught it. The game doesn't seem to really know where the fish are in 3D terms. Also, you will drift on curves, just as if you really were on ice, so be prepared for that. The word REST at the top tells you how far you have left to go. You can't get hurt, so you don't have lives to worry about, but you don't get any continues either, so when the TIME runs out, you have to start all over again. You begin each stage with 90 seconds. The timer is steadily winding down! When it begins to run low an alarm will start sounding to let you know, but by then, it's really too late to do anything about it. Can you make it in time?

Controls:

Minus Key: Starts Game
A Button: Jump
B Button: Jump

Hints:

- Avoidance -
Watch out for the round holes. When you get going fast it's easy to want to jump over every hole, but the round ones are the ones that will quite often contain seals. They will seriously slow you down, so simply avoid all of the round holes instead of trying to jump them.

Reviewer: fallenrain 
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/antarctic_adventure.html
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275a7013
Aquattack
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Vertically Scrolling
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Interphase
Publisher: Interphase
Players: 1
_________________________
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You, as agent Captain Blitztek, have to find a way through enemy territory to prevent the Axtoatles from taking control of the world. The mission will be aborted if the defenders inflict more than nine damage points on you. A game point system has been devised to further measure your skills as a navigator and survivor.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/aquattack
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adfa09e2
Artillery Duel
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Strategy - Turned-Based
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Xonox
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
I have discovered a pretty neat 2 player game. It is called ARTILLERY DUEL. This early 80's game is an imitated version of some game that came before, copied and altered many times since the contest of You VS. Me. Mano E Mano. Take off the kid gloves and put up your turret, cause this time (for real) it's for real.

The game begins kind of slowly, with kind of a paint shop program (but slower than today's) filling in a scenic mountain landscape with budding groves of trees. Meanwhile, several passages of a familiar and pleasant classical score (by Chopin, I believe) play until everything is filled in. After everything is "filled in", a drum cadence sounds and, one at a time, two turrets emerge on opposite sides of the screen from seemingly nowhere (which goes to show, video games were just as amazing back then as they are today).

If you can tolerate the set-up time, Artillery Duel is an excellent head-to-head competition game. Simple, yet fun. A good old-fashioned kill or be killed format, Artillery Duel is Artillery Cool!!

Directions:

The duel is on. A frantic beeping sound along with a blinking light on one of the guns indicates whose turn it is. Player 1 takes the first shot of the first round. You and your opponent alternate firing long range shells at each other, adjusting various factors. You must compensate for the angle of the shot, the amount of gunpowder, and also the wind.

Gameplay of this particular contest is slow (especially in the set-up stage), but not to the point it is a detractor. You can take your time to "dial in" your weapon, but there is a timer counting down to take your shot. Your attack takes a couple seconds to follow its launch trajectory, but that adds to the thrill of the bout. If you score a direct hit, the round is over and the sequence starts again, with the loser getting first shot. If you miss, your attack will destroy a piece of the landscape where your shell hits, and your adversary gets his turn.

The round begins and players view a "control screen" halfway from the top, with the rest of the battlefield in view at the bottom half of the screen. Use your direction joystick to select gun barrel angle and amount of powder in the shell. Each selection has 2 adjustments (boxes). The upper adds to gun angle or amount of gun powder. The lower detracts. The control screen also shows a radar picture of your opponent and wind factor. After you have calibrated your weapon, move the joystick to the FIRE selection and press the button to fire your shot. A direct hit clears the round. A partial hit damages your opponent but allows him to retaliate. If you allow the timer to run down to zero, your shot is fired automatically.

First man to five kills, wins!

Controls:

D-pad/ Joystick: Select
Button 1: Adjust, Fire

Hints:

Make the most of your adjustments with Powder, increasing for shots that fall short and decreasing the shots that carry. Adding too much barrel angle could cause a shot to go straight up and back down, on you!!

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/artillery_duel.html
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4359a3e5
BC's Quest for Tires
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Artech Studios
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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"Help! Help!"; It's Cute Chick, and she's in trouble. The dinosaur is holding her captive. If Thor doesn't get to her in time, the dinosaur may even eat her! Yes, it's your favorite caveman, Thor, straight from the comic strip B.C.! Help Thor over the many obstacles to save Cute Chick from the dinosaur. There's danger everywhere, but it's worth the risk in the cause of true love.

--From the Colecovision BC's Quest For Tires instruction manual.

Overview:

BC's Quest For Tires is a side scrolling action game featuring characters from the comic strip BC. You play the character Thor, riding a stone wheel through various terrains, dodging and ducking various obstacles. Your goal is to save Cute Chick, who has been kidnapped by a Dinosaur.

The graphics are good for a game this old. The characters in the game look much like the their daily edition counterparts; controls are simple and respond well. The game begins with a couple of 8-bit bars of the "William Tell Overture", which also plays at other key parts of the level. Other sounds, such as the rushing of the wheel under your feet and the bloops and bleeps of jumping and ducking are befittingly simple for a game from this ancient time frame. BC's Quest for Tires is a cute blast from the past that I found kind of challenging, but quite enjoyable.

Directions:

Drive Thor on his wheel, jumping and ducking obstacles on plains, hills and caverns. If you fail to avoid an obstacle, Thor crashes and you lose a wheel. You will also have to jump across heads of water beasts to traverse several rivers. The ability to control Thor's speed is paramount on big jumps. Upon completion of a level, you begin again with frequency of obstacles increased.

Controls:

Left Fire: Slow Thor Down
Right Fire: Speed Thor Up
Up: Jump
Down: Duck

Hints:

Speed up to almost max for the big jump at the bottom of the hill. Slow down when boulders begin falling from the sky.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/bcs_quest_for_tires.html
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ca7fe4ce,d464e5e4,9ebe5d98
BC II: Grog's Revenge
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action > General
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Sierra Entertainment
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Thor has completed his Quest For Tires. Now he must discover the Meaning of Life.

But it won't be easy. The Meaning of Life is hidden away; somewhere in a long maze of mountains.

Each mountain is covered with clams and Thor needs to gather 100 clams in order to pay the toll and advance to the next mountain.

The only way to Peter and the toll bridge is through the "real scary caves". There are lots of clams in the caves but watch out for stalagmites. Keep Thor's headlight sweeping back and forth for maximum clams.

Out of the cave, watch out for Grog, who saves clams from Thor. Thor also has to contend with rocks, potholes, and Tiredactyls (they'll eat his wheel) in his Quest for Clams and the Meaning of Life.

--From the Colecovision BC's Quest for Tires 2: Grog's Revenge instruction manual.

Overview:

BC's Quest for Tires 2 on Colecovision is the sequel to its predecessor based on the daily comic strip character BC. I used to play the first installment on C64 (Commodore 64 for all of you NKOTBs, no relation to N64) back in the mid-eighties and that knowledge alone may qualify me to be pre-historic. Whether or not I am pre-historic, this game is.

I hate to open this review with comparisons to the original, but this one falls way short of the allure that BC's Quest for Tires had (see also: BC's Quest for Tires). The original had constantly changing side-scrolling scenery and obstacles to keep you on your toes and on the edge of your "wheel". In the follow-up, you are rolling on your wheel around side-scrolling mountain passes while constantly collecting clams to pay your "toll" to participate in the next stage. Various obstacles and pitfalls are placed before you, but you are not afforded the option of jumping in this installment. Warning tones sound when you've spent too much time gathering clams (to your annoyance) and a few seconds later Grog appears. When he appears, he slams his club, announces his name (coincidentally GROG) and you lose a life.

Not much to the graphics or sound on BC's Quest for Tires 2. Which, neither would have been a factor if the direction of game had rolled true. Controls respond well, but lacking the ability to jump makes the need to avoid obstacles a chore. Also, you can fall off the side of the mountain too easily, which adds to the frustration of the game.

I've always been pessimistic when it comes to sequels, thanks to Rambo 2 and Superman 3. This one here exemplifies my feelings towards them. Numerous words could "roll" off my tongue to tell you how bad this one is, but I'm going to put on the brakes. BC's Quest for Tires 2: Grog's Revenge isn't likely to cause a revolution. It's more like a fossil to be left "around" in a time capsule so that one day people might say "Hmm... I wonder what this was used for???"

Directions:

Maneuver Thor around the playing board, collecting clams with the joystick. You need 100 clams to pass to the next stage of the game. Gather them quickly or Grog will make a special appearance, and you don't want that. When Grog appears, you (thankfully) lose a wheel. If you run off the edge of the mountain or come into contact with anything that is not a clam, you lose a wheel. If you run out of wheels and can't find a better game to play, your loser life has come "full circle". I'm "Wheely" "Tired" of this.

Controls:

Left Fire: Speed Up
Right Fire: No Effect

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/bcs_quest_for_tires_2_grogs_revenge.html
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2e8e9d42
Beamrider
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Vertically Scrolling
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
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The Restrictor Shield, 99 sectors deep, now surrounds the Earth. You are the Beamrider, on a mission to clear the Shield. There you must demolish an onslaught of alien frights as you dodge from beam to beam. Sector after sector, the deluge deepens...

--From the Colecovision Beamrider instruction manual.

Overview:

Beamrider on Colecovision will not receive the praise that other games on this system get from me. It just doesn't have the quality that the Coleco arcade games have. I guess one reason is it doesn't have an arcade model. Made by Activision, this one resembles an Atari game more than a Colecovision game. I hate to say it's terrible, but there is just not much to it.

Graphics are astonishingly simple, as you control a block looking ship on a constantly down-scrolling blue grid. Enemy ships, which are plain-jane grey flying saucers, yellow eyes and green balls, advance on you and fire little square bombs on the grid which you must avoid. Controller response is good and gameplay is pretty simple and easy. Sound effects follow suit to rest the of game design, simple bloops, bleeps and "white noise" crashes.

Beamrider could provide some fun despite its simplicity, but I just didn't find it very interesting. Maybe I just hold Colecovision games in such high regard, that when one falls short in quality, I'm not going to be able to find much good to say about it.

Directions:

Begin each Sector by pushing up on the joystick. You have three missiles per sector and unlimited laser fire. Enemy ships begin to descend down the grid towards your ship. Some fire missiles at you, others are simply obstacles to avoid.

Destroy the ships for points. Move your ship left and right to avoid enemy ships and their weapons' fire. Also avoid asteroids on the grid.

If you come into contact with anything on the grid, you lose a ship. After you get blown up, press Up to start again. The only thing you'll see that's not an enemy, is a little yellow ship that looks like your ship: grab it for an extra life.

At the end of each sector, a mothership will appear, moving from one side on the screen to the other. You can only destroy the mothership with your missiles. If do not have any missiles remaining, avoid its laser fire, and the mothership will pass off the screen and you will advance to the next sector. If you do manage to destroy it, it's worth a pretty good amount of points.

Controls:

Left Fire: Fire Laser
Right Fire: Fire Missile

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/beamrider.html
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da29c284
Blockade Runner
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Flight Simulator
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Interphase
Publisher: Interphase
Players: 1
_________________________
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A 3D shoot 'em up. You have to guide a fleet of four merchant space freighters to Earth with vital supplies. Hostile aliens have sighted you and forced you enter a dangerous asteroid belt. And now, you must try to avoid these asteroids, to destroy the Robot mines and alien space ships and also contend with fuel shortages and prevent the deflector shields from over-heating.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/blockade-runner
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6e5c4b11,1796DE5E
Boulder Dash
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: First Star Software
Publisher: Micro Fun
Players: 1
_________________________
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You're Rockford and have to dig through monster infested caves in search of diamonds. In each level you must collect a certain number of these diamonds, in order to open a portal to the next stage. Enemies can be squashed by falling boulders, which are released when the ground below them is removed or they are pushed onto empty ground, but be careful because these can also squash you. In later levels, difficulty is increased by many puzzle elements and shorter time limits.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/boulder-dash
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829c967d
Brain Strainers
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Carousel Software Inc.
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
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Brain Strainers is a two part game that features a memory match game and a musical tone match game. Neither game is very challenging or interesting. This one might captivate a small child and actually may be good for one too, developing memory skills or learning musical notes.

The first game is called "Follow the Leader" and is a home console version of the popular eighties hand-held game called Simon. Four colored (red, yellow, blue and green) triangles, each with a different color and musical tone, are presented on the screen. The computer activates a color (with its tone), and you must copy it. Each time you select the correct color/tone, the computer repeats its sequence, adding a new tone, and you must copy the new sequence. You can select a short sequence, a long sequence, or no sequence and play something else. When you copy the sequence correctly, the triangles flash to the tones of a well deserved "victory song".

The second game is called "Clef Climber" and features two musical staffs and a speaker at the bottom of each. The computer plays a tone and displays a note on its staff (while the speaker at the bottom simulates sound coming out of it), and you must find that tone/note on your staff. As you move your note, the tone changes and denotes whether it is natural, sharp, or flat. When you reach the correct note, the tones will be identical. Select that note and the name of that note (A, B, C etc.) appears on the screen. You can select a timer or a hear the tone/hide your note option to make things more difficult.

As I said before, this game would OK to teach a young child about the musical scale or memorization skills. Aside from that, not much to see here. It's a No-brainer, Brain Strainers is not a gamer's game.

Directions:

Follow the Leader: Use the joystick to copy the sequence the computer plays. You can select a sequence length of 1-40. You can also replay the last sequence by moving the cursor over "replay" and press left/right fire.

Clef Climber: Press left/right fire and the computer plays a note on its staff. Use the joystick to move your note up or down your staff until you reach the correct note. Push left/right fire and the name of each note on each staff is displayed next to it. If you have chosen the same note, you get some points!!

Controls:

Joystick / D-pad: Select Color / Note
Left Fire: Select Note
Right Fire: Select Note

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/brain_strainers.html
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1baf661e
Buck Rogers: Planet Of Zoom
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Fast and furious racing game taking place on a futuristic racetrack. Guide your spaceship between the pylons and shoot down other enemy racers. Based on the arcade game (which is loosely based on the Buck Rogers comic strips).

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/buck-rogers-planet-of-zoom
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002b22d4,eb498f97
Bump 'n' Jump
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Vehicular Combat
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Bump 'N' Jump is an action racing game played from a top down point of view. As you race through the treacherous and ever changing roadways, the numerous enemy cars will be trying to bump you off the road. You need to make sure you bump the cars out of the way before you get bumped and crash into the sides yourself! Your car also has the ability to jump quite high if you have enough speed. This is useful to jump over enemy cars if there are too many in the way, and must also be used to jump gaps in the roadway and other highway obstacles.
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91346341
Burgertime
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Interceptor
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Join in the ultimate food fight as you help Chef Peter Pepper fend off the Food Foes and make perfect burgers.

--From the Colecovision Burger Time instruction manual.

Overview:

Burger Time is one of the best classic arcade games ever. This ColecoVision version is as much fun as any. You are the lovable Hamburger Chef, whose job making burgers is made difficult by the constant pursuit of various villainous foods.

This version has good graphics, especially for the era when my peers and I considered ColecoVision to be the "Holy Grail" of game systems (before the days of 8 bit PCs & NES). Burger Time's video jingle plays up almost a sense of urgency as you race to build burgers while trying to outwit your pursuers, who chase the Chef with much vigor. Other sound effects, such as the pepper shaker and the "thud" of falling sandwich layers, are true to the original.

Controls respond well, not to detract from the enjoyment this game provides.

Hours of good fun, that's what time it is. Burger Time!

Directions:

Maneuver the Hamburger Chef around the playing board, building burgers by making the separate layers of the burger fall into one sandwich, as you are chased by Frankfurters, Eggs and Pickles. If any of your pursuers catch you, you lose a life.

A piece of the burger will fall one level when the Chef walks across it, subsequently causing all layers directly under it to fall one level as well. Any pursuer caught within the falling layers will be squished, for extra points, and will reappear at its designated starting point. Making a layer fall with an opponent on it will cause it to drop several levels further and yield a larger score.

The Chef is armed with 5 shots of pepper, which will render opponents immobile and harmless for a few seconds. Prizes appear in the middle of screen, for bonus points and an extra shot of pepper. When every layer of all the burgers are stacked completely, you advance to the next level.

Controls:

Left Fire: Pepper Shot
Right Fire: Pepper Shot

Hints:

Opponents will not be affected by the pepper when they are too close to the chef. However, the pepper attack lingers for a second, affecting enemies who walk into its area of effect.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/burger_time.html
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0c25ad84,51deb762
Cabbage Patch Kids Picture Show
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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Cabbage Patch Kids Picture Show is an electronic paint set, flannel board, puppet theatre and movie maker, all rolled into one! Children can paint and place props on blank or predrawn screens. They can also stage plays, create animated cartoons, record them, and play them back!

--From the Colecovision Cabbage Patch Kids Picture Show instruction manual.

Overview:

Here's a great game for kids to exercise some creative energy on. It is "an electronic paint set, flannel board, puppet theatre and movie maker, all rolled into one!"-from the manual. Kids can draw, use already created images, and even create cartoons. The graphics aren't amazing, but they're at least as good as an etch-a-sketch, and here you get color as well. The sound is quite buggy and parents may want to turn the sound off while their child is playing. I suggest putting on music of some sort that you both can enjoy.

Directions:

Press the Backspace key to stop the demo (though I do recommend watching this to get a bit of a feel for how the game works), and it will bring up a list of options. They are Play, Record, Dress a Kid, and Demonstrate.

From here the demo will start again in a few moments if you don't choose anything. Press Number Key 8 to stop the demo and return to the options screen. Once you have started to play, pressing 8 will take you back to the options screen, but you will have to reset if you want to watch the demo because that option will be gone. Press Backspace to reset at any time. Warning! Current information will be lost unless saved on Console Classix. See Help page if you need information on saving.

In Play mode, press the equals (=) key to rotate through the different characters you can be. Press the number 3 key to change the background. You will see a screen with some options of items you could place on the Play screen. Pressing 3 again and again will rotate you through more of these screens. Press the number 2 key to select an option. This will take you back to the Play screen where you can then place the chosen option by pressing the number 2 key again. Press 5 to undo/cancel. Press 6 to bring up the little painter guy. He will be at the top of the screen hovering over a color bar. Choose the color you want by pressing 2, and then paint free-hand on the background! Press 2 to paint and 2 again to move the guy around without painting (can't do that on an etch-a-sketch).

Press 0 to get a blank screen. You have four of these and they can be treated in the same way as the Play screens. Fill them with stuff or paint them. Press = to remove the painter from the screen and then you can walk your character around on your custom screen. You must press = and remove the painter from the screen in order to be able to press 8 and go to the menu again.

In Dress a Kid mode you can change the clothes that your character is wearing. You cannot, however, change the appearance of the cat. Change the color of your character's clothes or change their hair. Move the painter-guy over to the item you wish to change and press 2. When selecting an item of clothing he will then appear at the top of the screen where you can choose the color of their clothes. Press equals (=) to go back to the Play screen with your new outfit.

In Record Mode you can record your character moving around on the screen. When you go to the options screen and select this mode, whichever screen you were last on (except dress a kid) will appear. You can now record your character as you move them around. Press 9 to pause the recording. Press again to unpause. You cannot alter the background while recording. When you have finished recording you can press 8, and the option to 'Play Back' will now be on the options screen. You can now watch your recording! Every time you record you erase your last recording.

Both players can select from the Option Screen, select their own characters and move them, and/or select colors and paint. One player can paint or play while the other places props, except when a Props Screen is in use. Two players CANNOT place props at the same time or dress their actors at the same time. This way a friend can move another character around at the same time so that you can have two characters moving in your recordings!

Controls:

A Button: Jump (in Play Mode)
B Button: Drop (in Play Mode)
Joystick: Move Character/ Paintbrush
Number 2 on Keypad: Select Options/ Place Items

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/cabbage_patch_kids_picture_show.html
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72aceac7
Campaign '84
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Text-Based Adventure
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Sunrise Software
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
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Here's your chance to run for President. Garner votes in each state by shaking hands (in a maze-type game), determine which issues you'll campaign for, and avoid nasty events. Capture the majority from the computer and you become prez. Slow-moving but worth a try.
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Carnival
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Fixed Shooter
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and prove your skill at hitting targets in this challenging carnival shooting gallery. Authentic carnival music and gallery sounds set the mood as you build up your score with good aim and a careful choice of targets. But watch out for the bullet-eating ducks! Once you clear the gallery, you get a chance at hitting a special bear target for extra points.

--From the Colecovision Carnival instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/carnival.html
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Centipede
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Fixed Shooter
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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THE ENCHANTED FOREST; One glorious spring day you hike into a dense forest that you've never before explored. As you push deeper into the woods, the trees close up behind you and the forest grows increasingly dark and ominous. You get a creepy feeling and decide to go back. A chill plays up and down your spine when you turn and realize you're lost. You collapse onto a flat rock beneath an enormous spreading tree and try to regain your sense of direction. A grey squirrel chatters at you. "How do I get out of here?" you sigh out loud.

To your amazement, the squirrel speaks!

"Help us and we'll show you the way" promises the squirrel.

"This is an enchanted forest" explains the squirrel. "We peace-loving animals must suffer the hostile attacks of an evil Centipede, a deadly spider, a venomous flea, and a poisonous scorpion. Will you help?"

"I guess so. But how?"

Suddenly a bird flies over, releasing three white feathers.

"Catch those," the squirrel instructs.

As you catch the feathers, they transform into three glowing wands.

"Now you can go to battle for us," says the squirrel. "With those magic wands, you can shoot sparks at the Centipede. When any section of the Centipede is hit, it turns into a powerless mushroom. You can also stun the spider, flea, and scorpion with sparks, and they will disappear for a short time.

But, if one of them bites you before you spark it, you lose consciousness and your magic wand is snatched away"

Suddenly you hear a leaf-shaking shriek and the animals scurry about in a frenzy of terror.

"Look out!" cries the squirrel "Here comes the Centipede!"

--From the Colecovision Centipede instruction manual.

Overview:

Is that a great story or what? You have to admit that, with a game that's so simple to play, that's a pretty involved little story. It gives me a good chuckle anyway.

Just about everyone has played this classic game in one form or another. The mechanics are easy to learn and operate. No complicated chicanery here. Just straightforward blast the badguy fun.

The graphics are incredibly simple and still interesting like some kind of modern graphic art. Neon and bright colors are positioned against a pitch black background that makes them pop. There isn't really any music, just the noise of the centipede approaching and if this gets on your nerves just put it in the S.A.T.A.B.R.B.E.T.T.V.O.O.M.T.G.C.A.T.T.O.A.T.O.O.O.C category which stands for "small annoyances that are best resolved by either turning the volume off or muting the game completely and then turning on a tune of one's own choice". I find this category to be very useful when dealing with Colecovision games. I'm just not a big fan of beeping, blipping, or static, which is your usual fare with these games. Still, I am a fan of Colecovision over all and find many of its arcade-style games very engaging and enjoyable.

Directions:

Maneuver the little spaceship-looking-thingy at the bottom of the screen left, right, up, down or diagonally, and shoot like mad. When moving up you can only move up about five or six ship lengths. This gives you a bit of leeway to get out of the centipede's way when it makes it's way all the way down to the bottom of the screen.

If it (or any of the other bugs) runs into you.. KABLOOEY! Ya lose a life.

As you shoot head pieces of the centipede they will turn into mushrooms. Mushrooms effectively act as road blocks for the centipede. Now, this might sound like a good thing but in action it means that the space that the centipede moves along becomes shorter and shorter as the screen fills up with mushrooms. The centipede will drop down to the next line and change direction each time it runs into a mushroom (it will also do this when it runs into another centipede or the edge of the screen). So, more mushrooms = more lines dropped, and closer together mushrooms = this happening faster. All this = centipede all up in your personal space very quickly.

After the centipede reaches the bottom and goes all the way across the screen on that line, single pieces of very fast moving centipede will begin to enter the screen. (The centipede will also begin to travel back up again until it reaches the end of the space in which you can move, the six lines, and it will start down again. It will go up and down like this until you kill it.) So, kill the centipede fast so that you don't have to deal with those guys. Centipede head pieces are worth 100 points and other segments are only worth 10.

Spiders will remove some mushrooms, but they are also worth a lot of points (more points the closer they are to you when you shoot them) and will get in your way as they hang out in the bottom six lines. Scorpions will poison mushrooms as they pass from one side of the screen to the other. Poison mushrooms are pink and when the centipede touches a poison mushroom it will fall all the way down to the bottom of the screen. I get rid of poison mushrooms as soon as possible and stop scorpions in their tracks as soon as they enter the screen. Scorpions are worth a whopping 1,000 points! Now, those weird pink squirrelly things that come falling down the screen at the speed of.... well.. falling things, are fleas. Fleas are a nightmare. Fleas will lay down mushrooms as they fall, cluttering the beautiful clear screen that you worked so hard to achieve. Fleas are only worth a measly 200 points. Any mushrooms that were shot but not completely destroyed when you die will be regenerated completely.

**IMPORTANT NOTE**

Pressing the minus key during a game will not pause it, but will instead take you back to the start menu, losing your current progress! If you wish to pause the game, press the equals (=) key instead.

Controls:

A Button: Fires Wand
B Button: N/A
Minus Key: Start/Restart Game
Equals Key: Pauses Game

Hints:

Fleas are the worst right? Well, you could be bringing them on yourself. After you destroy a large amount of mushrooms fleas will begin to drop like crazy. The best way to keep your screen clear is to destroy all of the mushrooms that you can. Then, when the fleas start coming, leave the mushrooms they deposited for a while. This way, alternating between periods of wiping out mushrooms and periods of rest, you can keep your screen the cleanest it can be.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/centipede.html
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030e0d48,e7a1ff9f
Choplifter!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Horizontally Scrolling
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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The following orders have been classified confidential--Top Secret. A crisis situation has developed in the cold war between the United States and the Bungeling Empire. The 64 delegates to the United Nations Peace Conference have been kidnapped by the militaristic Bungelings near their territorial border. Escalation must be avoided! The U.S. has launched a mission to rescue these hostages, and the call has gone out for a heroic but level-headed pilot to command the rescue helicopter--you!

Your mission begins at the U.S Command Post just east of the Bungeling border. After your chopper lifts off and heads into the hostile territory, you'll see barracks where the prisoners are being held. Your goal--release and rescue! It won't be easy! The Bungelings are not going to give up the hostages without a fight and will use all the weapons at their disposal to thwart the rescue mission. Success depends on your valiant effort. There can be no rest as long as lives are in peril and a threat to world peace exists!

--From the Colecovision Choplifter instruction manual.

Overview:

Choplifter is a pretty fun arcade style game. The graphics are very good looking, like almost all of the games on the Colecovision. The controls were a little tuff, though. You have to push a button to turn the chopper around, and how high you are in the sky determines where your shots land on the ground. The music sounds good and it isn't so beepy that it's annoying. The sound effects were pretty entertaining. Choplifter is definitely worth a shot.

Directions:

Fly your helicopter across enemy lines and rescue the P.O.W.'s held captive. You start at the U.S. base. Fly to the left of the screen and you will see enemy tanks and planes trying to kill P.O.W.'s and shoot you down. Each P.O.W. camp has prisoners inside. If you or the enemy shoots a camp, the people will run outside and try to flag you down. If you land near them, they will board the chopper. Your chopper can hold 16 P.O.W.'s. Be sure to never land on a camp that is on fire, your chopper will explode. When you have enough prisoners, head back to base and land on the helipad and the prisoners will get out and go in the base.

While you are flying, you can shoot at the ground. The other button will turn your chopper 90 degrees. The first time you push it, you will face the screen. While in this position, you will fire straight down, and your fire will land closer to the horizon if you are closer to the ground. The second time you press the turn button, you will be facing the opposite direction that you were when you started.

After all P.O.W. camps have been taken care of, you will move on to the next level where things will get a little harder. There are three numbers at the top of your screen. The one on the left tells you how many prisoners have been killed in this level. The middle one tells you how many prisoners you have aboard the chopper. The one on the right tells you how many have been lifted to safety in the U.S. base. There is no way to beat the game, you just play as long as you can, and get the highest point score you can.

Controls:

Button 1: Fire
Button 2: Turn

Hints:

Be sure when landing to not press down when you actually make contact with the ground. If you just let the chopper "fall," it will land. If you press the chopper down to the ground, it will explode.

Reviewer: adrian
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/choplifter.html
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73e96e53
Chuck Norris: Super Kicks
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Beat-'Em-Up
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Xonox
Publisher: Xonox
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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In this action game you play the part of Chuck Norris on a quest to reach a monastery where an important leader is kept hostage. The game consists of several different screens: when beginning and between fights you will see a view of the path that leads to the monastery. Walking along the path, you will encounter numerous enemies. When fighting, the view switches to a close up of your current location. By pressing the joystick button and moving the

joystick in one of four directions you can perform various kicks, punches, and blocks. The enemies you encounter are varied, and some can only be defeated by certain moves.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/chuck-norris-superkicks
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Congo Bongo
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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An extremely faithful port of the famous jump-n-run platform arcade game. Run, jump, and climb your way through a dangerous jungle while avoiding various animals and projectiles. Includes the introductory animations and features the arcade version's sliding screen transitions.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/congo-bongo
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Cosmic Avenger
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Horizontally Scrolling
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Universal
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Fly your fighter over domed cities and through alien seas, firing bombs and missiles at enemy installations and targets. But beware! The aliens are not defenseless. UFOs and submarines shoot at you, bombs fall from above and missiles rise from below while rockets track your every move. Fire, dodge, and fire again! How long can you survive above this dangerous alien planet?

--From the Colecovision Cosmic Avenger instruction manual.

Overview:

Another great space shooter for the Colecovision! With its incredibly bright colors set against a black background, it is rather fun to look at. With super-fast-paced action and no annoying music, except at the beginning and end, this game is one of the better space ship games for Coleco. The game itself is very similar to Looping, another great Coleco game, but the controls aren't nearly as difficult and frustrating in this one.

Directions:

Like many Coleco games, you begin by choosing your skill level and the number of players. Press the appropriate number key for the game you wish to play.

In this game you will have to maneuver your ship through many enemies and obstacles. Drop bombs on enemies below you to blow them up and gain points. Shoot your primary weapon to blow up objects in the air ahead of you. Points are as follows: U.F.O. (green flying thingies): 100, Rockets: 30, Tank (the blue thingies that shoot blue thingies at you from the ground): 100, Tank missile (the round blue thingies that the blue thingies on the ground shot at you): 30, Rocket Launch Pads (either type): 50, Submarine (red ship-like things in the blue section): 100, Torpedo (black missiles that the submarines shoot at you): 30, Barrage Gun (things on the ground that shoot small grey missiles up at you): 50, Barrage Missile: 30, Mine (red spiky thingies): 30, Fuel Dome (things on the ground that don't do anything, can be blue or green, vaguely dome-shaped): 100, Bomb (white thingy that falls from the sky in the blue section): 30. So you may have noticed that the smaller the target is the less points it seems to be worth. Bah! Well, them's the breaks, kid. Only one bonus life available at 10,000 points.

Now here's the kicker, the faster you go... the faster the enemies go as well! No running away in this game. You can move insanely fast, if you want to. I really wouldn't recommend it until you've really gotten the hang of this game. Take it slow to begin with. Try not to get nervous and run. If you run they'll just chase faster. It adds yet another dimension of difficulty. Of course, there is one exception. If one of the diagonally shot yellow missiles is on your tail your only real option is to try and outrun it. Still, slow down again as soon as possible.

To begin with you will be dealing with U.F.O.s, Barrage Guns, Rocket Launchers (two types) and tanks. Make it through those and you'll have to navigate the tight space of the underwater section with mines, submarines, bombs, and more rocket launchers to deal with. As you progress in skill levels the game can get ludicrously difficult. You get more lives in the first skill level (5) than you do in the others (3). Not only that but everything will shoot more. There will be more U.F.O.s to deal with and more submarines. Well, just more of everything!

If you lose all of your lives, pressing the minus (-) key will restart the game at the level that you have already chosen. Press the equals (=) key to get back to the options screen and choose a different skill level.

Controls:

A Button: Drop Bomb
B Button: Shoot Primary Weapon
Backspace Key: Resets Game

Hints:

Note that your primary weapon will not fire again until the previous shot either explodes against something or leaves the screen in some other manner. This means that accuracy when firing is important!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/cosmic_avenger.html
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3a581cae,7c2c7c41
Cosmic Crisis
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Telegames
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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A platform/strategy game that's extremely similar to ColecoVision's own Space Panic or to a lesser extent to the better known Lode Runner. Initially created overseas by Bit Corp., then re-packaged and distributed by Telegames.
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c75fad5a
Dam Busters
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Flight Simulator
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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Early Spring, 1943; Bombing a dam deep inside Nazi Germany. If the mission is successful, several important power sources for the Reich will be destroyed and river traffic in the Ruhr Valley will come to a virtual standstill. An added bonus: The propaganda value of a successful mission will allow the Allies and the Underground to spread rumors about epidemics resulting from the flooding, water shortages and loss of firefighting capabilities.

The Plane: Lancaster B. MK I/III (The Dambuster).

The Bomb: A cylinder 60 inches long; 50 inches in diameter; 3/8-inch thick steel, weighing 2650 pounds and carrying 6600 pounds of Torpex underwater explosive.

The Crew: You've been selected to fly the mission. Its success or failure and possibly the outcome of the war is in your hands.

--From the Colecovision Dam Buster instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/dam_buster.html
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bff86a98,2509ef63
Dance Fantasy
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Fisher Price
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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A program to coordinate your own dance routines and steps. Design your own dance routine using up to two - not just one but TWO - dancers! Do all kinds of funny little spins and kicks using your one-colored dancing sprite.
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614bb621
Decathlon
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Competitive Events
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1 or 2 VS
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The Activision Decathlon is a series of Olympic games similar to the Epyx games series. Up to four players can compete in the ten different events of a real-life decathlon, either in sequence or individually. Included are the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter race, 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500-meter race.

The flat running events involve simple joystick waggling, which must be balanced with accurately-timed button presses to clear the hurdles - hitting them or breaking stride causes a loss of momentum and thus time. For jumping and throwing events, you must build momentum by waggling and then press the button to throw or jump at what you feel is the appropriate moment.

For each event, points are earned based on how well you do (this can be based on your running time, or how far you throw the javelin or discus, etc...), and the player with the most points at the end of the decathlon wins the gold medal.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/activision-decathlon
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ffd16997
Defender
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Horizontally Scrolling
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Aliens from a distant solar system are swarming over the planet Humanis. They're kidnapping Humanoids and mutating them into a permanent part of the alien force. Their mission is to transform all of the Humanoids before destroying the entire planet. First, they infest the planet with Landers which close in on the planet, abducting the Humanoids.

Then the attack intensifies. Baiters, Swarmers, and Bombers terrorize the skies. And then, when you least expect it. A deadly Pod collides with your Spaceship, and blasts you to pieces.

--From the Colecovision Defender instruction manual.

Overview:

Defender is a very difficult space-based side-scrolling/wrap around shooter. Whew! Try saying that three times fast. Defender is very similar to Nova Blast (another Colecovision game) in its side-scrolling and wrapping format (which means that you can fly left until you eventually end up where you started from), but its appearance and game-play are rather different.

Defender lacks the colorful backgrounds that Nova Blast has. In fact, Defender looks more like Missile Command, very simple, bright-colored lines against a black background. Also, where you have four cities to defend in Nova Blast, you have many "Humanoids" to defend in Defender. Not only that, but the enemies are much more varied and deadlier in Defender. So, in Defender, you have a better chance of protecting your many Humanoids than you have to protect the four cities on Nova Blast, but you have a higher chance of getting killed by the enemy in Defender as well. Over all, I think Defender comes out to be the more difficult game.

Directions:

In Defender, you are in a ship that can fly up, down, left, or right over a mountainous terrain on which there are Humanoids wandering about. Aliens will appear out of the sky, sometimes below you, and will try to snatch up the Humanoids and/or shoot you down.

There are six different kinds of alien threats to worry about: Landers, Bombers, Swarmers, Baiters, Mutants, and Pods.

Bombers look like a set of two pink squares with the bottom right corners overlapping, and they set mines out (which you can't shoot, I know, that's terrible but you're preaching to the choir) that you'll have to avoid. Mutants are yellow, fly erratically, and move fast. Often Mutants will first appear underneath you, shooting up at you. Every time a Humanoid is carried all the way to the top of the screen by a Lander, the Humanoid will turn into a mutant. Baiters look vaguely like green hats and are much faster than you. They will come in near the end of a wave (especially if you're taking too long) and chase you around, shooting very fast. Pods are deceptively pretty light blue snowflake looking things. They are the worst, as when you destroy a Pod it will release 1-9 Swarmers. Swarmers will do what they sound like they'll do, they'll swarm your ship, so take them out immediately after they're released if you can. This is no easy task, since they're small and wicked fast.

Landers are green and look like a traditional alien face. These guys will shoot at you like the others, but they will also drop down to the surface and pick up humans. There will be a funny little alarm sound that, I guess, is supposed to be the human hollering. When they do this, you have to shoot them down and then zoom under them to catch the human before it hits the ground. You then have a Humanoid dangling from the underside of your ship. Drop down to ground level to set him back where he belongs. If you shoot the Humanoid by accident, it will explode. Strangely enough, they also explode when they hit they ground if you don't catch them. You can drop all the way down to the bottom of the screen and end up shooting your Humanoids, so be careful of that! Humanoids are worth 100 points each at the end of every wave up to a maximum of 500 points. In a two player game, the player with the highest score wins.

There to help you out while you're trying to accomplish all this are the smart bombs and your teleport ability. The number of smart bombs you currently have is displayed in little blue bomb icons in the top left corner of the screen. Every 10,000 points you score will gain you another smart bomb and another defender ship (also displayed in top left corner). Smart bombs will destroy all enemies on a screen. Use them wisely. Your teleport ability can be used by pressing the zero (0) key. This will immediately transport you to another (not necessarily less dangerous) part of the screen. Only use this in dire emergencies. Also, you can only use this once per wave. If you use it a second time in the same wave you will automatically explode and therefore lose a defender ship/life.

One last thing: If all of the Humanoids are gone, dead or turned into Mutants, the planet will explode (very dramatically) and you will be left in space alone with many enemies and Mutants instead of Landers. You still get to play. It's not game over and you don't lose a life, but it is crazy difficult to stay alive at that point. Also, the humans and planet do NOT come back just because you clear that wave.

Oh yeah... You may have noticed the scanner at the top of the screen in the center. According to the manual, the scanner offers important information on where the aliens are, but I didn't notice that the scanner did anything useful at all.

Controls:

A Button: Fires
B Button: Uses a Smart Bomb
Zero Key: Teleport
Equals Key: Pauses Game

Hints:

- Save the Pods for last -
After you have taken out all of the other enemies you can then explode one Pod at a time. This way you'll have plenty of space to run around in to kill the Swarmers that come out.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/defender.html
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56c358a6
Destructor
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Expansion Module #2 - Steering Wheel Controller
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Your starcruiser lands in the hostile city of Araknid to collect precious Crystals needed desperately on earth. Your equipment: the mighty Ram-car. Use your Ram-car to bump Krystaloids, transforming them into precious Crystals! But watch out for the evil Destructor and deadly Insektoids, protectors of the Krystaloids! Can you collect the invaluable jewel-like Crystals and fly home?

This is one of the few Colecovision games to make use of the Expansion Module #2, the Steering Wheel Controller.

You steer your armored Ram-car through Araknid's maze searching for Krystaloid insects. Ram them to form Crystals, then push the Crystals to the starcruiser.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/destructor
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3c77198c,94c4cd4a
Donkey Kong
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Donkey Kong has stolen Mario's girlfriend and taken her to the top of a steel structure. You move Mario over girders and up ladders, leap over tumbling barrels, dodge lethal fireballs and jump onto fast-moving elevators, trying to rescue Mario's girlfriend from Donkey Kong.

--From the Colecovision Donkey Kong instruction manual.

Overview:

Donkey Kong is a platform format game that happened to be the platform that launched the decorated career of video icon Mario. In his debut, our hero, Mario, attempts to rescue the damsel-in-distress from Donkey Kong, who has taken her up into an unfinished sky-scraper. Donkey Kong tries to thwart the rescue attempt by hurling barrels at Mario, or by the aid of his diabolical fireballs.

The ColecoVision home adaptation of the arcade classic, even today, is a pretty good one. It features quality graphics, reminiscent of the original arcade version, accompanied with excellent gameplay and controller response. Sound effects are pretty accurate as well, such as Mario's running and the "scoring chimes" which sounds whenever Mario receives points for jumping over a hazardous obstacle or from picking up a prize. So, for the old nostalgic or the johnny-come-lately, this is it folks, history. A fine representation of it too, I might add.

Directions:

Climb the skyscraper to reach the damsel, while earning points by jumping barrels and fireballs. Get the hammers to destroy barrels and fireballs for even more points. The hammer lasts about 10 seconds, and Mario loses the ability to jump or climb during its duration.

There are several items (a hat, a purse & an umbrella) that have been left behind by the damsel during her harrowing ordeal. Mario can pick them up to earn bonus points. Complete a level and a time bonus is awarded. If you do not reach the damsel before the clock reaches zero, you lose a life.

The game features three Boards which cycle through a pattern of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd to comprise a level, which begins the same pattern again when completed. The only drawback to this particular version is the lack of the fourth board, but with three of the original boards, it's still highly playable and fun.

Controls:

Left Fire: Jump
Right Fire: NO EFFECT

Hints:

Walking under a ladder is bad luck; A barrels can suddenly roll down any ladder it reaches, even the broken ladders. And as far as the fireballs go, don't ever trust those things.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/donkey_kong.html
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fd11508d
Donkey Kong Jr.
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Mario has locked up Papa Donkey Kong, and Junior must hurry through a treacherous jungle to free him. Racing against time, Junior climbs and swings across vines and avoids dangerous creatures, all to reach a flashing key to release his Papa. If Junior succeeds at this mission, the scene changes. Junior must push keys to the top of long chains, once again avoiding clever opponents. If he completes this test, he must climb the vines again, this time it's tougher! Then he arrives at the high-flying jump board mission. Can you help Junior save his father?

--From the Colecovision Donkey Kong Jr. instruction manual.

Overview:

Donkey Kong Jr. is the 1982 sequel to great Donkey Kong and introduces the fourth character in the Mario Dynasty. In this version, dad (Donkey Kong) has finally been caught by Mario (after climbing miles of skyscrapers) and Junior must rescue him. This is the only game in Mario's illustrious career in which he has played the role of the villain.

Donkey Kong Jr. is another really good Coleco home adaptation with close to arcade quality graphics and sound. The color and detail are good enough to make the characters distinguishable. Like Donkey Kong, it lacks the fourth board from the arcade version, but is still fun to play. Controller response is very good, making directional jumping very easy to execute. This game requires the directional jump. Each board has its own "musical soundtrack" that adds to the charm of this classic, and a "Nintendo song" plays at the end of each stage. Coleco hath did it again... well, a while back they did. Donkey Kong Jr. is big fun to be had by all.

Directions:

You must maneuver Jr. around each level, trying to reach Mario and your caged dad at the top of the board. While scaling vines and chains and scurrying across various sized platforms, you must avoid several creatures which Mario has sent to stop you.

The main enemies are red "jaw traps" which climb up and down the same vines and chains you must climb. There are also blue traps, which Mario dispenses himself every 10-15 seconds. The blues randomly choose a vine and descend until they disappear at the bottom of the screen. He also sends an endless barrage of birds that fly across the screen, reduce altitude, change direction and repeat that process until they fly off the screen. Should you touch any of your enemies, you lose a life. You also lose a life if you fall from a high vine or land in the water on board 1 or 3.

Fruits hanging from the vines or chains may be dropped by climbing past them for extra points. Even more points are yielded when they are dropped on enemies. Also you receive points as a time bonus for completing a level. If the timer counts down to zero, you lose a life.

To complete boards 1 and 3, reach the key next to Mario. Board 2 requires you to push 6 keys up the chains the top of the board. Each key releases a portion of Donkey Kong's bonds. When each key has been pushed to the top of its chain, Donkey is "free" and the level is complete. The levels follow in 1-2-1-3-2 sequence and then loop in that order with increasing difficulty.

Controls:

Left Fire: Jump
Right Fire: Jump

Hints:

When climbing up the vines or chains, using both hands will make Jr. ascend faster. When descending, use only one for rapid descent.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/donkey_kong_jr.html
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109699e2
Dr. Seuss's Fix-Up The Mix-Up Puzzler
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
What's better than a jigsaw puzzle? An electronic jigsaw puzzle. What's better than that? An electronic jigsaw puzzle that features favorite characters from the wacky world of Dr. Seuss!

DR. SEUSS FIX-UP THE MIX-UP PUZZLER is a zany combination of learning and fun. Designed for children ages 4-10, the game provides hours of unduplicated play while promoting problem-solving strategies, logic, pattern recognition, memory, and a variety of other early learning skills. Players can choose from five levels, ranging in difficulty from the very simple to the very complex.

The object of the game is to reassemble a scrambled picture of three Seuss characters. In Level One, children can mix and match the characters' heads, torsos, and feet, often creating their own silly versions of the puzzle picture. In other levels, the characters must be assembled correctly and in their original left-to-right order. The higher the skill level, the harder it is to put the characters back together again. Not only are there more puzzle pieces, but some of them are upside down. Quite a mix-up, indeed!

--From the Colecovision Dr. Seuss Fix-Up the Mix-Up Puzzler instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/dr_seuss_fix_up_the_mix_up_puzzler.html
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dcb8f9e8
DragonFire
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Imagic
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
This game will really put your thumbs to the test. Do you have the timing? The premise is simple: get across the bridge, into the dragon's castle, and steal his treasure. O.K. So no-one in their right mind would think that that would be simple. It is very difficult to accomplish. But hey, at least the controls are simple and easy to learn.

Directions:

When the little keypad symbol appears press 1 for one player or 2 for two players. After that, a castle symbol will appear. Press any number between 0 and 9 for your skill level with 0 being easiest and 9 being hardest. You then begin the game with seven lives.

First you will have to dodge the dragon's fire to get across the bridge. Levels always begin here at this bridge, but it'll get more and more difficult to cross as archers start shooting at you and trap doors open up beneath your feet!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/dragonfire.html
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4025ac94
Dukes of Hazzard
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Controller: Expansion Module #2 - Steering Wheel Controller
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Driving around in the car known as the "General Lee", you must avoid all sorts of obstacles in an attempt to catch up to Jeremiah Stinge. Beware though as Boss Hog and his police force are trying to chase you. The Duke boys are as usual on the side of right in this scenario and it's Jeremiah who has orchestrated things to put them on the wrong side of the law.

The gameplay is a top-down view of your vehicle heading down a path vertically across the screen. Also on the screen is your speedometer, a bonus timer (faster times mean more points!) and a gear shift. The General Lee itself has gears 1 through 4 and higher gears mean MORE SPEED. As for obstacles, the path ahead of you is full of hills and oil slicks making it difficult to catch up to (and pass) your prey.

Successful completion of levels results in faster chases and more obstacles on the road. Also an increased "Boss Hogg" presence.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/dukes-of-hazzard
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dff01cf7
Evolution
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Sydney Development
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Evolution is an arcade style action game with six levels where you need to evolve from an amoeba to a human. Each level is a different stage in evolution with it's own unique goals. The first level is the amoeba stage where you need to eat all the DNA on the screen while avoiding the spores, microbes, and antibodies that are trying to stop you. The second level is the tadpole stage. The tadpole needs to eat three flies to move on to the next stage while avoiding the very hungry fish. Next is the rodent stage...
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ec9dfb07,989e4993
Facemaker
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spinnaker Software Corporation
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Children can build a variety of faces and then animate them. Eyes can be made to wink, ears wiggle and faces smile in any order the child likes. When children are pressing the keys to animate the face, they are giving instructions to the computer using a very simple form of programming.

FACEMAKER will even play a memory game with children. The computer will animate the face with a particular sequence of winks, ear wiggles, and frowns; and the child has to press the appropriate keyboard keys to repeat the exact same sequence. This game helps improve a child's memory and concentration.

--From the Colecovision Face Maker instruction manual.

Overview:

This is a great simple little game to occupy younger kids. Here they can make faces and make the faces make faces.... er... what I mean to say is that they can choose from different options of ears, mouths, noses, etc. and put them on a face. They can then make the face do different things like stick its tongue out. It's not complex or graphically amazing. The noises are simple and all I can say is, be thankful that there isn't any music since games on the Colecovision tend to have very buggy annoying music.

While Paint Shop Pro it is not, younger kids will surely enjoy, for a while at least, being able to manipulate the loony looking faces they can create on this game.

Directions:

To begin with you have the options to Build (press the number key 1 to get to this option from other options), Program (number key 2), and play the Game (number key 3). In the Build section your kid, or you (I know you wanna mess with it just a bit), can choose from the different components of a face and they will appear on the face.

Use the joystick or arrow keys to move the selector up and down only. It is very important to note that you cannot move the selector side to side. I spent quite a little while trying to figure out why I couldn't reach some of the menu options before I discovered that you could only go through the menu up and down. Just keep pressing in one direction and you will go through the whole list. Press the minus (-) key to choose an option. If you want to change the color of one of the options you can press the equals (=) key to rotate through the color options.

After you have created your face you can go to Program. In this mode you can get the face to perform a few basic functions. The various things you can get the face to do and the number keys that apply are as follows: 4- Smile, 5- Frown, 6- Cry, 7- Wink, 8- Poke Out Tongue, 9- Ear Wiggle, and 0- Pause (there will be a moment where nothing happens in the program). You can just sit there and amuse yourself by pressing the appropriate key and watching the face respond, or you can program the movements in advance and then watch the face go through them on its own.

In Game mode the face will perform movements on its own and you will have to copy them by pressing the appropriate number keys, a memory game. The manual leads one to believe that there will be many different movements, but for some reason it only smiles over and over. If you sit there and press 4 for smile over and over, doing it how many times the computer has, after 27 times (and believe me this will take a while) you will eventually be rewarded with a small message telling you that "Super! You beat the computer!" Hooray, and all that jazz. Still, even with this small glitch this game would still be fun for small kids to play around with.

Whenever you are told to press ., press - instead. Also for #, you need to press =.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/face_maker.html
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9eb58823
Fathom
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Imagic
Publisher: Imagic
Players: 1
_________________________
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Neptina, Neptune's daughter, has been imprisoned at the bottom of the sea by Titans. Your goal is to rescue her by locating the scattered pieces of a magical trident! You will need to take the form of a dolphin and a bird in order to locate the pieces that are hidden in the ocean and clouds. When flying in the air, there are several screens that have clouds flying by. Touch all of the clouds, and the trident piece appears! Other birds which are flying around will cause you to lose energy if you touch them accidentally. Underwater, trident pieces can be found by touching the sea horses. Octopuses, sharks, and a deadly maze of seaweed will get in your way and cause you to lose energy if caught! When you have located all of the trident pieces, the cage holding Neptina can be unlocked, but if you run out of energy first the game will be over.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/fathom
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7e97a22e
Flipper Slipper
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Video Pinball
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spectravision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Another pong game! Really, this one is quite cute and extremely challenging. As a twist to your normal pong the paddles are curved, dramatically changing game play. There also will be turtles and a house roaming across the screen. You really have to be a pong master to watch the ball and catch it before it's too late (or use Console Classix's quick save function vigorously, which, I must confess, is exactly what I did).

The noises aren't too annoying, except for the sound of the water washing up when you lose, but then noises that say YOU LOST are always annoying. I've seen cooler looking pongs these days, but this one isn't too shabby for a Colecovision game, and you can't beat the challenge this one offers.

Directions:

The only movement in this game is side to side. Just like normal pong, use the joystick or arrow keys to move the paddles back and forth. In the first skill level the game is pretty straightforward, though still very difficult.

The strange shape of the screen causes the ball to bounce in unpredictable ways. O.K., Maybe not completely unpredictable, but it really does take some getting used to. The house that moves back and forth across the screen will change the trajectory of the ball as well. The third skill level is the same style as the first but insanely fast. If you felt the first level was too fast, play the third level for a moment and the first no longer seems as bad.

In the second skill level you will have one red paddle and one white paddle. Use the A and B buttons to switch which paddle is red. The ball can only be bounced back by a paddle that is the same color as it is. The fourth skill level is a faster version of this style. The skill level set for two players alternates in the same fashion.

Every time you miss a ball a tree at the bottom center of the screen will disappear. Behind them are the letters for GAME OVER. When this is spelled out, well, it's game over and the screen will fill with water. Don't ask me why water and roving houses. I was unable to find a manual for this game. My guess is the trees were holding back some kind of flood, but do we really play this sort of game for the story?

Another difficulty in this game is that the paddles will occasionally tilt, making it harder for you to catch the ball. I think the thing that causes this has something to do with the way you move the paddles. I'm not sure, but I believe that shaking them back and forth helps to right them. I found it to be very frustrating, but you may find it to be handy, especially if you can figure out how to trigger it and stop it whenever you want.

If you clear all of the thingies that look like brightly colored tree branches on one side at the top of the screen, fish will begin to swim out across the screen. Like the turtle, the first fish is worth 100 points, but wait, there's more! If you knock out another fish it'll be worth 200. The next is 300 and the next is 400 and so on and so forth. Knock all of the branches again and then crabs will wander about. If you pick up too many of these the ball will begin to move crazy fast. If you manage to let the pig out (that crazed yellow head closed up in a box at the top of the screen) by hitting the fence in front of it until all of it is gone, the game will give you 1,800 points twice. Why not just give you 3,600 points, I have no clue. At 10,000 points a tree will be added back to the bottom. When it's game over press the minus key to begin again with the level of skill you already choose or press Backspace to reset the game.

On the down side, this game is extremely difficult, sometimes frustratingly so, and there is a small space between the paddle and the wall when you have them over as far as they will go and, yes, believe it or not, the ball can escape down through this narrow passage.

Controls:

A Button: Switch Paddle Colors
B Button: Switch Paddle Colors
Joystick/Arrow Keys: Move Paddles
Backspace: Reset Game

Hints:

Don't move the paddles on the first catch. You'll miss the ball if you do! Remember to change the color of the paddle as well if that is the style you're playing.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/flipper_slipper.html
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65bbbcb4
Fortune Builder
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Simulation
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
Absolutely THE game that inspired Sim City, the modern computer classic. You can manage everything from economics to running' your opponent out of town. Maybe a bit too flexible - you can build a ski resort right next to a pier, for example - but satisfyingly complex.
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964db3bc,e9df779a
Fraction Fever
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spinnaker
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
The game involves moving a pogo stick laterally on a platform to find a fraction equivalent to the one shown on-screen.

Ain't math fun?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraction_Fever
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8615c6e8
Frantic Freddy
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spectravision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Certain "kooky" characters made their way into our homes in the 80's: the lovable blue Smurfs, the resourceful clown Mr. Do, and that wacky, fire-fighting hot-dog (no, a real frankfurter-type hot-dog) Frantic Freddy. Oh, that zany slab of animated by-products! This was his first and last adventure, rescuing cats from a burning building.
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bf1ccf04,0522ebdd
Frenzy!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Multi-Directional
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Stern Electronics
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Lead your Commando against a battery of mechanical monsters in a bizarre, alien high-tech structure. Watch out for Evil Otto! Plays like the Frenzy arcade game!

Don't be fooled by Evil Otto's smile. It's deceptive. He, the robots and the skeletons are out to get your Commando!

Trapped in a bizarre, alien high-tech structure and surrounded by robots, your Commando moves from cell to cell as you face a band of deadly mechanical monsters. Odd marching skeletons clunk toward you. Robotic tanks trundle into position. Face your enemy and fire, or be doomed by their fatal touch! Eliminate all automatons and proceed to the next assembly.

Stay alert! Your enemies now fire deadly blasts. Some cell walls ricochet the blasts--both yours and your enemy's, so watch where you fire! Worst of all is Evil Otto, the bouncing menace who passes through walls and destroys any creature on contact. It's a bizarre battle for survival as Evil Otto bounces toward you! Will you make it?

--From the Colecovision Frenzy instruction manual.

Overview:

This is perhaps one of the strangest games I've ever played. The storyline only adds to the weirdness. Apparently the skeletons are actually robots. Skeleton robots.... who ever thought that up? Anyway... Everything is a robot, well, except you, and of course, they are evil. So you walk around shooting them all.

The look is incredibly simple. You appear as a sliver of a man, green in color, looking something like a child's drawing of a stick figure (or Gumby). When you're killed you become an electrified chalk outline. Some of the evil robots are vaguely skeleton shaped and some are circular. The gun's fire (I say gun loosely because there's really no telling what you're supposed to be shooting, and if you'll notice, the storyline was careful not to tell you, so they didn't know either) amounts to just little white dashes on the screen, as it does for most Colevcovision games. Walls are outlined in dots and of course, the colors are (if you've read any of my other Colecovision reviews you may be able to take a guess at what I'm about to say) neon and bright against a black background.

The music is terrible. Blip blip, bleep bleep, blip blip, bleep bleep. If you pause it you get different music but it's really buggy and weird. Oh.. and Otto the terrible? The one where you shouldn't be letting his smile fool you? He's a smiley face. A big, yellow, bouncing smiley face of death. So you may be asking yourself, after all this, "Why should I play this?" Well, you'll play it if you love arcade games. If you love games that are simple and yet challenging, games that require you to play them again and again to get good at them, games that aren't about looking at pretty pictures but rather are about how long you want to sit there and stare at the ugly thing because you just have to get one level further... then this is your kind of game. And hey, we have something in common, 'cause it's my kinda game too.

Directions:

So you move the little green man around the screen and shoot everything whilst trying to run the heck away. Enemies will shoot each other, and (if you're anything like me) you will likely shoot yourself a few times when you shoot one of those aforementioned shot rebounding walls.

Notice that fire can ricochet until it hits something like a non-ricocheting wall, robot, or you. So if there are two white walls (the kind that bounce fire back) facing each other, a shot could ricochet forever as long as nothing interfered. The most important thing to remember at first is that you have to press a direction as well as A or B to shoot. You'll get used to this after a while.

Make your way through the room, destroying all the monsters, and out an exit. Some rooms will have a machine in the center. Shoot through the wall and shoot the machine and it will help you with the monsters in that room in some way. Each machine is different. Ignore the one with an Otto in the center. It won't help you. The more enemies in a room, the longer it will take for Otto to appear. Exits will just be holes in the perimeter. When the enemies turn green it can be very difficult to orient yourself and figure out where you are since you never know where you'll end up in the next screen. If you kill Otto, another faster Otto will pop up. This faster Otto is just about impossible to avoid.

You can destroy walls one dot at a time by shooting them. Enemies can do this as well. Sometimes it will be necessary to destroy a wall or two to make it to the exit or to get away from Otto. Sometimes you may even have the need to make an exit on the perimeter to get away from Otto. Note that you are thinner than you are tall, so making a hole that you can fit through is much easier when you do it below or above you rather than to either side.

It is also noteworthy that you can walk into enemies without being harmed (except for big ol' Otto). Enemy fire is what kills you (if your own fire or Otto doesn't get to you first), but there is one circumstance where something else gets you. Don't shoot enemies while you are pressed up against them. The explosion will take you out too. This can be a real bummer when you walk into a real crowded room.

Controls:

A Button: Fires
B Button: Fires
Minus Key: Pauses Game

Hints:

- Control yourself -
Don't go shooting willy-nilly all over the place. You'll just get yourself killed. Sure you only have a limited time before Otto makes his appearance on the scene, but wasted shots will only cost you more time since you can only have two shots on the screen at once. If you miss twice you'll have to wait until one of those shots vanishes before you can shoot again, and that'll get ya dead.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/frenzy.html
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32b95be0,20502339
Frogger
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Leapin' Frogger! Home may look like it's only a hop, skip, and a jump away, but looks can be deceiving. First, there's a dangerous highway to hop across, full of cars and trucks. Then there's a swirling river to leap, full of frog-eating creatures. How's Frogger going to get home safely? By letting you hop him on his way. Guide Frogger safely through this perilous journey, and you'll jump for joy!

--From the Colecovision Frogger instruction manual.

Overview:

This is the Colecovision version of the ultra-popular video game Frogger. Originally titled "Highway Crossing Frog," the name was changed to simplify it and increase appeal. In this quality home adaptation of the arcade hit, you must guide Frogger across a busy highway and treacherous river to his home on the other side.

The graphics are of good quality for the early 1980s. Lots of color and decent detail adorn this cornerstone of legendary arcade status. The "Frogger Song" plays much like the original, and accompanied by the hopping sounds, it is definitely a good representation of the original. Gameplay is good, and controls, which are limited to simply moving one hop at a time, respond very well. This is an enjoyable version of the classic Frogger and, with good graphics and gameplay, can provide hours of fun.

Directions:

Maneuver frogs to their homes, within a time limit, avoiding hazards along the way. Should the timer run out, you lose a life.

First, cross a busy highway filled with speeding automobiles and buses, traveling in both directions. Do not allow your frog to be run over by any of the vehicles or you lose a life. As you cross the highway, a brief reprieve is granted by a wall separating the highway from the other half of the screen, a perilous, swiftly moving river.

To cross the river you must jump onto logs and the backs of turtles to reach one of the "frog homes" on the other side. Some of the turtles which your frog rides upon are diving turtles and are only safe to land on when they are surfaced. If you are on the diving turtles when they submerge, or jump into any other part of the river, you lose a life (I dunno, i thought frogs could swim). There are also alligators that you can leap onto and ride, except the mouth of the gator when it's opened. Furthermore, a gator's head may appear in an empty "frog home" forcing you to choose another home until the gator disappears. Finally, avoid the snake and otter, for coming in contact with either will cause you to lose a frog. Eat the fly or escort a lady frog home for some extra points.

Controls:

Minus Key: Start Game
Joystick: Move Frog
Left Fire: No Effect
Right Fire: No Effect

Hints:

Sometimes, especially in later levels, when game speed and traffic increase, you may find it necessary to leap back and find a safer path across the highway and/or river.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/frogger.html
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04405423
Frogger II: ThreeDeep!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Parker Brothers
Publisher: Parker Brothers
Players: 1
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In Frogger II, you need to guide your frog to safety in three different locations. Starting out underwater, reach the top of the pond while avoiding dangerous alligators and fish (you can ride a turtle for safety!). Once on top of the pond, hop across logs, birds, and even a whale to the life preserver trailing behind a tugboat. In the third location you have to hop across a flock of birds to reach a cloud at the top of the screen. Each frog has a time limit to safely reach one of the homes on each of the three screens. You move on to the next level when a frog has safely reached each of the homes on all screens.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/frogger-ii-three-deep
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eff35a70
From Out Of The Jungle: Tarzan
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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Tarzan's fighting mad! You can punch apes and hunters, stomp on poisonous snakes, and leap onto unsuspecting crocodiles. Oh yeah, and you can rescue some "nice apes", too. Lots of different screens, with vine-swinging, pits, and the famous Tarzan battle-cry.
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08990b8f,e16e0917,9c551386
Front Line
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Taito Corporation
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Front Line is a vertically scrolling action game. Your mission is to infiltrate enemy territory and destroy their fortress. To reach the fortress, you will have to make your way through varied and dangerous terrain. Jungles, deserts, brush, and rocks all slow your progress, plus each area has numerous enemy fighters and tanks trying to stop you. To help get past these obstacles, you are armed with a machine gun and grenades; at some points in the game you may even come across an abandoned tank which you can control to increase your odds of survival. When you reach the end of the level and successfully destroy the fortress, the game will repeat at a higher level of difficulty. Gameplay is for one or two players, and four different skill levels are available.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/front-line
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987bc7ac,fe1d0b6a
Galaxian
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Fixed Shooter
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Namco Limited
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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What an induction! You no sooner join the Intergalactic Warrior Fleet than the explosion hits. Suddenly the planet is under attack. Without prior training, you have to complete your first mission - defending the planet. On-the-job combat is the only way to learn, so you have to go out there and do your duty. Shaking in your boots, you accept the assignment and board your intergalactic command ship. You soon find out that this invasion has something to do with a centuries-old interstellar war. As a result of this war, the Galaxian government lost many planets. Now they are fighting to reclaim their lost territories. Knowing they have no right to your planet, you're ready to put your life on the line and fight to the bitter end.

The Galaxian invasion start off with a bang. Instantly, an entire fleet of invaders descends toward the planet. The command ship suddenly becomes the target of a missile ambush. The Galaxian fleet is fast and strong. They attack in waves, approaching faster and faster with each wave. They swoop downward, firing laser cannons. The majority of them charge in single file; others blitz in groups.

Flagships never fly alone, for they are always flanked by protective escorts.

Their colorful uniforms make their ranking order easy to identify. Drones, the lowest rank, wear blue; Emissaries wear purple; Hornets are outfitted in red; and Flagship Commanders, the highest rank of all, wear yellow.

The Galaxian fleet is smart and experienced in battle. They have special radar that enables them to dodge inter-galactic missiles. Their warfare includes tricks to divert attention. The Galaxian ability to pull off the unexpected forces you to use foresight and caution plus cunning and skill.

The initial attack is thwarted, but the battle isn't over. They'll be back, stronger than ever. Next time, you'll be manning the command ship, again waiting courageously to defend the planet and defeat the Galaxian fleet. Use your accurate aim and quick reflexes, as well as strategy and forethought. A foolish move could cost you the battle and the planet.

--From the Colecovision Galaxian instruction manual.

Overview:

Similar to Galaga, Galaxian was another of those arcade shooters where you're being attacked by aliens who keep their ships in these tight formations that are easy for you to shoot at. Sounds silly. Still, it is pretty challenging for all its simplicity. When those little buggers get moving, they're difficult to stamp out.

Galaxian is a bright and colorful game. The red ones (Hornets) are a bit difficult to distinguish from the purple ones (Emissaries), who look more pink than purple to me. The yellow Flagships make a different noise when you explode them, and it is a very rewarding sound indeed. The sound effects are quirky and silly sounding to me, but there is a nice explosion whenever you or your enemies blow up. Your laser cannons sound a bit pathetic, but it's very similar to MIB's "Noisy Cricket," I guess, since one hit and BOOM! the whole enemy ship blows up. Of course, one hit will blow up your whole ship too. While they appear to be advanced enough in this game scenario to have come up with 'laser cannons', they never bothered to come up with a shield. Oh well.

This game is very hard to put down. Killing Galaxians may very well become one of your new favorite pastimes.

Directions:

Shoot as many of the forty-six ships as you can without getting hit yourself. The different colors of ships will behave differently. Yellow Flagship Commanders always attack with two red Hornets (unless you've destroyed the hornets), giving them a wider attack range and making them more dangerous.

Try to take these guys out while they're flying at you with their guards. They are worth more points with their guards than alone, and in flight than stationary. Now, the enemy units are constantly shifting back and forth. The best way to work them is to get yourself into that swaying motion. Follow them as they drift, slowly and carefully, shooting at a single row (the best ones being the ones with the flagships at the top).

Remember, it takes a while for your shots to reach the enemy, so it takes a bit of timing, but once you've hit one try to drift with them and keep steadily firing as fast as you can. If you don't take out the yellow ones first, they'll bail when you put heat on by taking out the hornets near them. They'll show up again in the next round, but there can only be up to four flagships at the top.

As you're trying to take them out column by column (or row by row if you prefer), enemies will break off and come after you, shooting all the while. These shots can be difficult to see, and running into them or the enemy ship will result in your losing a ship. More and more of them come flying at you, faster and faster the further you progress. Eventually you could have fifteen attacking at once!! After you have killed off most of the army and only have a few left, the enemies that break off to attack you will no longer go back to their original positions. They become much harder to hit at this point.

Controls:

Minus Key: Starts Game
A Button: Shoot
B Button: Shoot

Hints:

If you find yourself drifting in one direction only, you better change up quick! If you keep going only in one direction, eventually you'll end up in the corner where one of the enemy ships is bound to run into you!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/galaxian.html
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0726b64d
Gateway to Apshai
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Role Playing Game
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Epyx
Publisher: Epyx
Players: 1
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Turmoil rocks the land and the only salvation lies in the magic of the Temple of Apshai. Unfortunately the location of this temple has gotten lost in time. Furthermore, many heros dispatched to seek it have been slain. A legend speaks that only the blood of the greatest hero of Apshai's greatest hero will be able to reclaim the lost Temple of Apshai. Unfortunately this "greatest hero" has also perished. But all hope is not lost, for the wise man, Merlis has found the hero's son, whose blood is still able to fulfill the prophesy. With great haste, Merlis brings the youngster to the dungeon pits and leaves him to fend for himself. It is this youngster's destiny to find safe passage through the 8 levels, each of which contains passage to 99 different areas,

Directions:

Gateway to Apshai is a top-down action-RPG. As the desendant of a hero, the player starts with basic stats in 4 areas, Strength, Agility, Luck and Health. and basic equipment, a dagger and leather armor. Then it's time to choose a number between 1 and 99 to generate the dungeon. Once begun, the player must explore the dungeon, hidden until explored and revealed. The player can move in four directions and has standard abilities, each mapped to a different control. There are several different actions available to the player. These include: fighting with the equipped weapon, a LOCATE spell to discover traps in the room, a SEARCH spell to discover hidden doors inside of room which would otherwise look like ordinary walls. Players may also use many of the items and scrolls that can be picked up in the dungeon. The treasure can be picked up which include weaponry (swords, bows and arrows), healing slaves, precious items and magical scrolls. Most items are only good for a single use.

The Gateway to Apshai is guarded by an assortment of creatures including snakes, swamp rats, bats and many more. These enemies are only visible when they are in the same room as the player and are otherwise hidden. After 6 minutes and 30 seconds has passed, the player is teleported to the next dungeon, many versions of the game also offer the option to manually leave the dungeon at any time. Dungeons get progressively more difficult with faster and more vicious enemies.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/gateway-to-apshai
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ff46becc
Gorf
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Fixed Shooter
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Bally/Midway
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Only your fighter stands between Gorf's fleet of robot ships and their control of the galaxy! With your skill, you can defend the universe against the enemy's twisted technology.

But Gorf never quits. Each mission you survive, Gorf sends another fleet even meaner than the previous one!

--From the Colecovision Gorf instruction manual.

Overview:

Gorf is very similar to Galaga and Galaxian.... Why do these games always begin with 'g'?... So you're a spaceship fighter defending the universe (the WHOLE universe???) against Gorf. Now, I mentioned that in Galaxian your ship has the very progressive laser cannon but alas, lacks any shield. Not true here. Of course, you only have a shield in the Astro Battle part of the game, but hey it's better than nothing.

This game is bright and colorful, like many of the Atari and Coleco games. It is not nearly as much fun to look at as Galaxian, but it is much more challenging. The sound effects are also a bit more jarring than Galaxian, though very helpful in telling when your shots have hit something. Also, the noise the game makes when you're moving on to the next level is very similar to the noise it makes when you've been blown up. You may find yourself yelling, "VICTORY!!! Ah, no. Crap, defeat," when you think you passed but it turns out that the last shot the enemy fired hit you, or the more fun: "NOOOOOO!.... YESSSSS!!" when you think you've died but you haven't. This game has four levels that loop over and over, becoming more and more difficult each time you play them, very much like Donkey Kong and Jungle Hunt for the Coleco. You start with four ships (extra lives) besides the one you're playing. How far will that get you?

Directions:

Astro Battle!!

Very new-age sounding isn't it? Ah, well this part of the game is closest to Galaxian. The enemies are formed up in tight formations that shift from one side of the screen to the other.

However, in this game they move much faster. There are only three rows of them, but they fire at you and your shield constantly. Also, if they get low enough to touch your shield, this will destroy it too. Kill them quickly while you still have some shield protecting your movements. There will be bonus enemies that fly across the top of the screen while you are fighting the linear enemies. Shoot the bonus ones for bonus points, but they aren't necessary to progress.

Laser Attack!!

Also a very progressive and forward-thinking name. This is the second level. Here you will have to fight enemies that move crazily around the screen while the Laser Fighter (the blue one that fires lasers at you).... fires lasers at you. All of the enemies on this level will move quickly and randomly, including straight down into you, except the Laser Fighter and bonus enemies (those U.F.O guys you may have noticed in the first level that move across the top of the screen). The bonus enemies always move the same and the Laser Fighter tends to mostly move up and down and only slightly left and right. When you face this level the second time, there will be twice the number of enemies!!

Space Warp!!

On this level the ridiculously simple red lines coming towards you tell you that you are warping through space. Apparently the blue guys are throwing balls of radiation at you. It's all very high tech. Shoot these guys down before they get closer, and larger, which will make them hard not to run into. Avoid the yellow glowing suns, radiation balls, and fire at the bonus enemies here as well.

Finally you get to fight a Gorfian Flagship. They're big and bulky and reside behind a red shield, you can't miss 'em. Well, o.k. you can miss them, but they're much easier to hit than the previous enemies. Take out a good section of shield for you to fire through at the beginning of this fight. Then start firing on the flagship, mainly at the glowing ball in the middle. It will take much longer to defeat the flagship with hits to other parts of the ship. This enemy throws red bombs at you that look very similar to the yellow radiation balls of the previous level. You can shoot at these and destroy them as well. Besides that, there are no U.F.O. enemies on this level, but the little red alien guys you saw on level two will start appearing here the second time you fight this level. After you defeat this ship each time, you will gain a rank and then start over back at the Astro Battle level, only this time everything will be harder!

IMPORTANT NOTE; When you fire your missiles, they will vanish if you fire another missile before the last one hit its target. So, fire again only after your first missile has hit its target or when you are sure that it was an unsuccessful shot. Also, if you want to pick a different skill level, say you picked three and now you find you're dying every two seconds, you have to reset the game. Just hitting the minus key starts you with whatever you chose in the beginning.

Controls:

A Button: Fire
B Button: Fire
Joystick/ Directional Pad: Move Ship
Minus Key: Restart Game

Hints:

In the Laser Attack level, when you're busy shooting and jiving, trying to kill and not be killed, watch the side of the screen that you are heading towards. The green guys and the little aliens will sometimes travel in a diagonal path, meaning that they could come in very suddenly from the opposite side of the screen. So, if you see them go right and off the screen, watch for them to enter again lower and on the left side of the screen.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/gorf.html
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f2cac67c
Gust Buster
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1983
Developer: VSS
Players: 1
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Gust Buster development took 6 weeks. From Ed Salvo: "This was an attempt to provide a new way for the player to interact with the controller. By controlling the vertical motion he could indirectly control horizontal motion. He had to think ahead instead of just reacting."
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b4ef0f1f
Gyruss
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Tube Shooter
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Konami Industry Co. Ltd.
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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Three billion miles is a long way from home. But there's no shorter route from outer Neptune to Earth. As if that weren't enough . . . it's got to be a shoot-out all the way.

You alone in your rapid-firing spaceship, swirling in a circular flight pattern . . . orbiting to the right . . . arcing to the left . . . trying to mow down wave after wave of enemy plane formations, rocketing meteors and run-away satellites. Stops at Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars will mark your progression towards Earth. Each one's a short visit, though. Then it's off again to the next planet--and the next wave of enemies. Reach Earth in one piece and maybe you'll think twice about leaving home. Then again . . . maybe not!

--From the Colecovision Gyruss instruction manual.

Overview:

Gyruss is a rotating space ship shooter. By 'rotating' I mean that you swing around a center point of the screen in a circle. Your enemies generally come at you from the center of the screen and run away from you towards the center (though sometimes they will behave differently). I really like this motion. It's very different from most games and has a really cool feel to it. I find it much easier to avoid attacks with this motion than in the side to side motion of most space ship shooters.

The graphics in this game are very simple but easy to see and understand. The music is really cool for a game like this, and I find it quite enjoyable. It's classical and really energetic. The sound effects are really faint and almost non-existent under the music, but I don't mind. Most of the noises that games like this make are really annoying.

Directions:

Fly through space shooting down everything!!! Who doesn't love doing that? Enemies, asteroids, and satellites will come flying at you from the center of the screen. Shoot them down before they shoot you down or run into you.

Notice that the shots you fire do not cross the entire screen but instead disappear into the middle of the screen. Shots you fire will enter the center of the screen and not pass across to the other side of the screen. Keep this in mind as you play. Also note that enemy ships will not kill you if you cross paths. Only when alien ships fire at you will they hurt you. Don't let this make you too relaxed, though. The closer you get to an enemy the harder it will be to avoid his fire (sometimes this will look like you ran into him and exploded when you were in fact shot and just couldn't see it). Plus, other things can still kill you when they run into you, including power ups!

Gain weapon upgrades by shooting them down. They will come in a couple of varieties and colors, and they don't look like space ships or asteroids. Alien ships are pretty obvious in their triangular ship shape, and asteroids are grey balls that fly at you really fast. Power ups will usually be orange or blue and round shaped (sometimes three round shapes grouped together). Power ups will give you things like extra shots and extra lives. Some will have other effects as well. Once you have gotten a weapons upgrade, you will keep it until you are killed. Weapons power ups will only appear when you don't currently have one.

Enemies will fly in formations that will make them easier to shoot down if you watch them and recognize the patterns. For example, when they form themselves into lines, get behind them and just keep firing.

Every few levels you will get a "Chance Stage" where you simply shoot as many objects as you can before they fly off. You will get 100 points for every object you shoot. You cannot be harmed in this stage.

When the game starts telling you how many Warps until you reach Earth, you know you're in for it. The game will really pick up at this point, and enemies will practically take over one side of the screen. Avoidance may be best at this point.

Controls:

A Button: Fires, Starts Game
B Button: Fires

Hints:

When you are shooting down alien ships, remember not to chase them. The best way to catch them is to swing 'round the other direction. This way they are flying towards you and you towards them, making it much faster to catch them.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/gyruss.html
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866849d1,c9c27f92
Heist
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developper: Livesay Computer Games, Inc.
Publisher: microfun
Players: 1
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Join forces with Graham Crackers, the world's greatest superhero, as he enters a museum on an espionage mission. He is to find a micro dot containing top secret information. The dot is attached to one of the pieces of art found in the 90 rooms in the museum. Graham Crackers' mission is complete after he collects the last piece of art.

--From the Colecovision Heist instruction manual.

Overview:

This is a skill and search platform based game where you jump over gaps, dodge traps, and find every piece of art. Graham Crackers (yeah, I know, it's just terrible) is a goofy looking little stick figure that will spin like a dervish if he gets injured. Guide him through the museum, which is simply constructed of very square pixelated objects that are brightly colored and set against a black background, just as many games for the Colecovision are.

The noises are simple, but the music is neat and reminds me of one of my favorite games of all time, Snake Rattle and Roll for the NES.

Directions:

To begin with there will be a demo running. Press the minus key to start the game.

Run around collecting art and keys to open doors. Any time you pick up either of these, your clock will reset. If the time runs out you will lose a life. Running into robots (those domed things running back and forth along the floor), lasers, alarms (those boxes with red lights flashing on top), or falling down a hole at the bottom of the screen will also cause you to lose a life. If you run into a robot, you might only lose a key. On the positive side, you will eliminate the robot. On the negative side, it will cost you a key, which you need to unlock doors. If you don't have a key on you, you just lose a life.

To ride an escalator, stand at the end of it and press up and forward on the joystick. To use an elevator, stand within it and press the number of the floor you want to go to, 1, 2, or 3. Doors are unlocked simply by walking into them. So, be sure you want to use a key on that door. Electrified doors will cause you to lose a life.

From the manual: "There are three levels with two difficulty levels to complete in the game. Level one is red, two is blue, and three is green. There are 10 screens in each level. After completing level three, level one continues with one and one-half minutes between art and keys. Game play is also faster."

You will get 50 points for keys and 150 points for each art work, with the remaining time you have added to each. Doors are worth 250 and robots are worth 100. Extra lives are awarded at 20,000, 40,000, and 60,000 points.

That's pretty much it. Run through and collect the keys to unlock the doors and grab all of the paintings without getting wasted by a trap!

Controls:

A Button: Jumps
B Button: Jumps
Minus Key: Starts Game
Equals Key: Pauses Game

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/heist.html
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685ab9b5
H.E.R.O.
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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DOWN AND DIRTY! Reach miners trapped miles under the surface of the earth! Use the Prop-pack to maneuver through a maze of mineshafts! Blast vile vermin with the Microlaser Beam! Dynamite walls! Negotiate across the lethal lava flow! Rescue all the miners you can before running out of lives or power!

--From the Colecovision H.E.R.O. instruction manual.

Overview:

Drop down and down and down into underground worlds made of bright neon colors that seem to be sponged onto a black background. H.E.R.O., which stands for Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation, is another great, simple skill-based game for the Colecovision. Of course, I'm fairly biased since I love the majority of Colecovision games no matter how lame they get. Still, this doesn't mean that you won't love the same games. While I don't know if H.E.R.O. was originally an arcade game, it certainly has the feel and style of one. The noises, unfortunately, are early arcade-like noises as well, which means that they consist mainly of static and blips and bleeps.

Your objectives are clear, and the controls aren't difficult to learn or use. You just keep trucking, racking up points for the highest score you can manage!

Directions:

IMPORTANT NOTE: The game will first come up with a demo playing. To begin the game press the minus key. A black screen will appear. Press any number 1-6 (easiest to hardest) to choose your skill level and begin the game. If you press a number while you are playing the game you will reset the game and lose your current score. Pressing the minus or backspace keys will do this as well.

One of the first things you will encounter is a wall. Blow it up! Pressing B will drop a stick of dynamite on the ground. Simply make sure you are close to the wall and then drop a stick of dynamite. Of course, don't forget to run 'cause the fuse on these things is really short and you really have to move fast to get away before it explodes. Blowing yourself up can be a pretty common way of losing a life. You only have a limited number of sticks of dynamite, so don't waste one by dropping it too far away from what you are trying to blow up. At the end of every level, the dynamite you have left over will be added to your score as a bonus.

Fly around using your propeller pack. You can move in any direction, including up. Immediately after you begin moving by pressing the joystick in any direction, you will begin to use power. This yellow gauge in the box at the bottom of the screen will gradually turn red. If you run out, you will lose a life. You begin the game with one life you're using and three in reserve. You will gain another life every 20,000 points with a max. of six lives in reserve. Any power left over at the end of a level will be added to your score as a bonus (so don't freak out when the gauge begins to quickly turn all red after you walk up to a miner).

This Microlaser Beam that the storyline speaks of will shoot from the eye level of your character. Use it to shoot monsters that will be in your way. The range on this weapon is very short. Keep that in mind.

If you touch a tear drop shape (apparently meant to be lanterns), the screen will go dark and all you will be able to see will be yourself, your enemies, and some brightly lit traps. Walls will not be visible. There will be many kinds of traps, and beware of anything, including walls, that is red. Touching red things will kill you. Must be the dye.

Miners are always at the bottom. Just keep blasting (with your dynamite and laser beam) all the way down to the bottom of the level. When you find the miner, you need only walk up to him to complete the level.

Controls:

A Button: Fires Laser
B Button: Use Dynamite
Joystick: Moves Character in Any Direction (Including Upwards)

Hints:

Monsters- 50 points each
Remaining dynamite sticks- 50 points each
Miner Rescued-1,000 points each
Dynamiting a wall-75 points each
Also you will get bonus points for any Power remaining in your gauge at the end of a level. The higher the level, the higher the points you get from leftover power.
The important thing to note about these point values is that dynamite sticks are worth more if you use them to blow up a wall, so use 'em, don't save 'em!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/hero.html
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2787516d
Illusions
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Prepare yourself for a journey into a most unusual fantasy. A kingdom where nothing is as it seems. A land where the usual is unusual. Take a good look--then look again. It's a place. It's a time. It's a state of mind. Illusions it's all done with mirrors!

--From the Colecovision Illusions instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/illusions.html
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It's Only Rock 'N Roll
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Text-Based Adventure
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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In this brilliant text and graphics game, you start with a guitar, a few bucks and enough raw talent to sit in with the Stones or the Police.

Now you've got some big decisions to make as you pick one of three levels and let IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL take you down a whirlwind road seeking the unbelievable wealth, status and popularity points you'll need to succeed.

If you're really good - if you can avoid exhausting tours, bad managers, lousy material and _too_ much fun - if you can keep your money, stay happy, and interpret the record charts and newspaper headlines - you'll be the all time reigning KING OF ROCK AND ROLL!

Fail and you'll be playing the opening act blues.

But whether you end up a superstar or a hasbeen, IT'S ONLY ROCK 'N ROLL AND YOU'LL LIKE IT! LOVE IT! YES YOU WILL!

--From the Colecovision It's Only Rock N Roll instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/its_only_rock_n_roll.html
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3004a253
James Bond 007
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Parker Brothers
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
In this game, you are Bond. James Bond, 007, the world's most famous secret agent. Renowned for your cool and confidence (not to mention your biting wit), you've been selected by the British Secret Service for four clandestine, utterly critical, and nearly impossible missions.

These will be accomplished at the controls of a specially designed multi-purpose craft that boasts extraordinary capabilities. It has the properties of a car, a plane, and a submarine. And it's equipped with the latest weaponry. We think you'll find it more than adequate.

In brief, Mr. Bond, this is what lies ahead. First stop, Las Vegas in Diamonds Are Forever. No casinos, here. Rather, you've got to cross the desert in the dead of night. A very romantic place, indeed, when you're not being shot at.

We know you like a change of scenery, Bond, so the next stop is Sardinia in The Spy Who Loved Me. Stromberg's underwater laboratory is your destination in this one. We're confident you ' 11 know just what to do when you reach it.

In Moonraker, you'll recognize your old nemesis Hugo Drax and his poison satellites. From your position on the lake, you must stop the satellites from ever reaching Earth.

We thought we'd top off the assignment with For Your Eyes Only. This one will take you below sea level to a sunken World War 11 fishing trawler. Could be the most hazardous mission of all. We're only thinking of you Bond. We know your fondness for the Greek islands.

Oh, about the details, read on. We want you to be prepared for the assault... frogmen, missiles, mines and the like. Not to worry. Good luck, Bond. And Bon Voyage!

--From the Colecovision James Bond 007 instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/james_bond_007.html
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a5511418,ee5a1ed0
Juke Box
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Spinnaker
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
Play unique jukebox songs!
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060c69e8
Jumpman Junior
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Epyx
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 to 4 Alternating
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*
On the far side of Jupiter lies the Jupiter Command Substation, a valuable outpost of planet Earth. The ALIENATORS, dreaded enemies from beyond our solar system, have already attacked Jupiter Command Station and are now invading the Substation! Can it be saved?

Jumpman, Jupiter's super secret agent, is desperately trying to restore communications at the Command Station. As the promising apprentice to Jumpman, you, JUMPMAN JUNIOR, have received an emergency request to drive back the ALIENATORS. You must defuse the bombs planted throughout the Substation's 12 levels before they explode, crumbling the outpost instantly. Your speed, jumping ability and courage are your only weapons against the enemy.

--From the Colecovision Jumpman Junior instruction manual.

Overview:

Jumpman Junior is a very simple skill based game made of platforms that you climb and jump between. You have to play this game even if it's just once, to watch Jumpman Junior bounce down the screen from the top if he falls or gets hit by anything, like a Plinko chip on the Price is Right game show.

Other than the hilarious cartoonish antics of the injured Jumpman, the look of the game is very simple and somewhat similar to Donkey Kong. Simple shapes and colors arranged against a black background make up all of the things you will interact with. Jumpman Junior himself is a very simple (yet comical) stick figure. The music is cheery (except when you die of course), funny, and likable. There are a few sound effects when Jumpman jumps or when he defuses a bomb, but these aren't really worth noting. At least they aren't too annoying.

Directions:

Pressing # will not start the game on the emulator. If you press the equals (=) key a screen will come up where you can choose to have 1-4 players and then the speed for each player. If you just press the minus key you will begin the game automatically with 1 player at a speed of 3. The higher the speed number, the slower you'll go, oddly enough.

When the game screen first comes up, you'll have to wait as Jumpman Junior runs ridiculously across the bottom of the screen. After that, he'll appear hanging splayed on the ladder in the middle of the screen. This will be the norm for every new level, except that he won't always appear in the same place, and the set up of the different screens will change.

Now you have to get down to the tricky business of maneuvering Jumpman around the screen without killing him. If you press a direction Jumpman will move in that direction, including up or down if he is on a ladder. If you press the A button while you are pressing the joystick in a direction he will jump in that direction. Jump distance will be greater if you are jumping down hill. Jumpman can jump a greater distance than he can fall, which isn't really saying much considering that he can't fall any distance at all. The moment the game knows that you walked off of a ladder, platform, or rope, or that you jumped and are coming to the end of that jump without anything to land on, you will begin your crazy Plinko journey of losing a life.

While you are running around the screen defusing bombs (which are the pretty little red flower shapes) the ALIENATORS (I couldn't even begin to make that up) will start shooting at you. These crazy bullets can follow you anywhere, including up or down ropes or ladders. Note that ropes have a directionality, and Jumpman will automatically go in the only direction you can go (up or down) when he touches the rope. Also, you can land on ropes and ladders when you jump to them. So, you can jump from ladder to rope or rope to rope or whatever.

Sometimes a trap will be triggered when you defuse a bomb, I.E. a fire will spring up in your path that you will have to jump over. The name at the bottom of the screen as you start a level and Jumpman runs across it will give you a hint as to what might happen or what you might have to deal with on that level.

It's pretty cool to note as well that Jumpman will defuse bombs as he does his death fall. Also, you don't use your reserve life until you restart that level by reappearing. So, if you just happen to nab the last bomb in your fall, you won't lose a life. You can't really control this, but hey, it sure is nice when it happens.

Controls:

A Button Plus Direction: Jumps
B Button: N/A
Zero (0) Key: Pauses Game
Equals (=) Key: Starts Game

Hints:

On the level where the are two ladders moving up and down in the center of the screen you might think that you will have to time your jumps to land on the blue ladders, but you don't. Underlying the blue ladders that are moving are two other invisible ladders that can be used to reach the platforms on that screen. The two blue ladders seem to follow these invisible ladders as a track.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/jumpman_junior.html
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e8858484
Jungle Hunt
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Atarisoft
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Jungle Hunt is an arcade style sidescroller. It's goofy and corny, but hey, most of these games are. In this game you must run through various areas of jungle to rescue your wife from being boiled for lunch by savage cannibals. There are four different challenges requiring four different strategies to get past them. Game play is fairly simple but still engaging.

Jungle Hunt is very simple looking, but it doesn't really affect the quality of fun you have playing it. When you bite the dust the little guy throws his hands and feet up and lays on his back like a possum, which is kinda funny considering he does this whether he has fallen or was bitten by a crocodile in the water. It's all the same to him. Things are differentiated by very different bright colors so it's very easy to tell what is what (most of the time). The colors change from level to level, which helps prevent boredom. There isn't really any music (except for victory music at the end of each section and level) and the sound effects are very basic. The swishing of vines and the beep it makes to let you know you made it over a boulder are nothing to shout about, but it's better than dead silence.

Directions:

VINES

The first section you will be in is the vines section. Here you will have to jump from vine to vine without falling to your death. Time each jump carefully, since every vine doesn't swing at the same speed (and this will vary more as you progress in levels), but don't take too long! You are timed throughout the level, I mean, you're dealing with hungry cannibals here!! Also, you will eventually have to contend with treacherous monkeys.

They will be hanging from and moving around on the vines, and if you jump onto them you will fall!

CROCODILES

In this section you must swim through crocodile infested waters without drowning or being chomped. All you have to defend yourself is a measly little knife, but it does the trick. One hit and it's sayonara crocodile.... well, one hit from a croc and it's lights out for you as well, so be careful. Killing crocs will gain you points. Faster crocs are worth more points, but they are also more dangerous, so don't get too greedy! At the top of the screen there is a meter that says "DIVING" next to it and is filled with a pattern of diamonds. If this runs out you will drown. A beeping noise helps you keep track of this as well. Swim back up to the surface to take a breath and refill this completely. Press froward to swim faster or back to slow down.

BOULDERS

In this sections you will have to dodge rolling boulders as you run up a hill. Touch a boulder and you're history! Some will be small and bounce low and some small ones will bounce really high. Some are large and bounce low, jump over these. Some boulders will be large and impossible to jump over since they bounce so high. These you have to go under! Press forward to run faster or back to slow down. Press down to lay flat against the ground and let boulders bounce over you.

CANNIBALS

This is the final section. Here you have to jump over the heads of two spear wielding natives to get to your woman who is hanging perilously over a pot over a fire. No biggie. Just leap to the end! When you've completed this section the level is over and you will start a new one that will be more difficult. Any time left over at the end of a level will be added to your score!

Unlike many other Coleco games, you don't have to reset this game to pick a different skill level if you die. Just press the minus key and choose.

Controls:

A Button: Jumps, Stabs
B Button: Jumps, Stabs
Minus Key: Restarts Game

Hints:

Speed is the key in the croc section. Go as fast as you safely can without getting too close to the left edge of the screen and the crocs will have a hard time catching you!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/jungle_hunt.html
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8c7b7803
Ken Uston's Blackjack-Poker
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Poker
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 to 4 VS
_________________________
*
Feeling Lucky? Pull up a chair and play a few hands of Blackjack or Poker. Minimum bet is $1 and maximum is $499 at the BlackJack table, whereas over on the 5-Card Stud Poker table the sky is the limit. Up to 4 people can play simultaneously, or if you're a little shy you can always go one-on-one with the dealer. Speaking of which, don't forget to give Max, your dealer, a nice tip, or you never know what kind of cards he'll deal out in your next hand. 

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/ken-uston-blackjackpoker
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fad8d414
Keystone Kapers
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1
_________________________
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The notorious thief Harry Hooligan is on the loose! You play the part of Officer Keystone Kelly, sent in to capture Harry. Harry is trapped in a four story mall, and is running as fast as he can to reach the exit at the top. Your job is to catch up to him and send him to prison. You will need to use either the escalators at the end of each floor, or the elevator in the middle to go from floor to floor. The escalators may be further away, but the elevator moves pretty slowly so you will need to decide which route will be faster in getting you closer to your goal. If Harry can make it to the top before you catch him, you will have to retry that level. Harry has no intention of letting you catch him easily, and is hurling everything he can find in an attempt to slow you down. Shopping carts, bouncing balls, biplanes, and more will all be flying past on the screen and will either slow you down or send you back to the beginning if you get hit.

As the levels progress, Harry will run faster and faster, and more objects will be tossed your way to duck and jump over.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/keystone-kapers
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2c3097b8
Lady Bug
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Use strategy to steer your Lady Bug through a maze, dodging hungry predatory insects. Use turnstiles to change the maze and block their pursuit! Lady Bug gathers points and bonuses by eating dots, hearts and vegetables and by spelling words. But avoid the deadly skulls! How many points can you rack up before moving on to faster action?

--From the Colecovision Lady Bug instruction manual.

Overview:

Lady Bug is a very tough game that is similar to Pac Man. It is much more difficult than Pac Man, though. There's a constant ticking sound as the enemies await their chance to devour you. When they do get out.... man, are they fast little lobster thingies. When you are eaten by one of them, you're rewarded with a lovely white image of open mandibles. Just the way anyone would want to go if they had the choice.

The noise the turnstiles make when you turn them is high pitched .... well, just about all of the sound effects are high pitched, but that one is a very distinctive samba whistle type thing. As you pick up 'X's you'll notice a noise like radio static, but alas, you can't adjust your antenna to rid yourself of this one. Still, you can always turn the volume off, and that doesn't really hurt the fun value of this game.

Directions:

Move the lady bug through the maze collecting the little 'X's, letters, and hearts. 'X's are worth whatever amount of points the '2X 3X 5X' box is currently on and you must collect them all to complete a level.

The 'X's are worth 10 points at the beginning, 2X=20 points per 'X', 3X=30, and 5X=50. Collecting hearts will bump this number up once per heart collected. It will drop back to 10 points at the beginning of every level, but you will also be given the chance at three new hearts.

You can also collect letters to spell the words SPECIAL and EXTRA. You must collect yellow letters to spell EXTRA and red letters to spell SPECIAL. A letter that is the wrong color will not count for either word and blue letters don't count for anything except points. Spelling EXTRA puts another lady bug in the game and fast forwards you to the next level automatically. Spelling SPECIAL will take you to a special level where you get to do nothing but eat vegetables! You also get to move on to the next level when you're done eating vegetables, regardless of whether or not you finished the one in which you spelled SPECIAL. Hearts and letters are worth different amounts of points depending on what color they are. 100=Blue 300=Yellow 800=Red. Also, they stay blue the longest, yellow the next longest (but no where near as long as blue), and red the shortest (and it is very short indeed, perhaps as little as a second).

You'll probably notice right away that there is a green and white border around the board that is constantly in motion. This is the counter for the baddies, and when it goes full circle (square?) a baddie will be released from the box in the center of the screen. When they are all out of the nest, a vegetable will appear there. Getting the vegetable will pause the baddies for a few moments, not to mention give you bookoo points. Oh, the vegetable in the center box is oh-so-tempting and yet oh-so-difficult to reach. You're almost certain to have baddies swarming all around it.

You may have noticed Punisher style skulls scattered around the board, and while you might think the lady bug would look tougher with these instead of spots, they'll kill you if you touch them. Your enemies are far more fortunate because if they touch one of these poisonous skulls they only get sent back to their home (where they probably share it with their queen). Makes me think they must be roaches. Blech! When you accidentally run into one of these skulls, they'll all vanish so at least you can't be killed by it more than once. The other bugs won't make them all vanish.

One of the most fatal errors you will likely make is making a turn too soon. The lady bug will turn right into a wall, making you easy grub, for any enemies hot on your tail. And oh do they get fast!!!!

Controls:

Directional Pad or Joystick: Moves the Lady Bug Around
A Button: N/A
B Button: N/A

Hints:

- Danger Zone! -
I recommend getting the 'X's around the enemy box first thing. It will be very difficult to reach these later.

- Just a Lil' -
You don't have to move all the way through the turnstiles to change them. You can just give them a 'lil bump to block off your enemies when you need to without ending up on the other side.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/lady_bug.html
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1641044f
Learning With Leeper
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Sierra
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
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Educational game designed by Nancy Anderton.
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918f12c0,b46635a5
Linking Logic
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1984
Developer: FisherPrice
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
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Use the parts given to you on any given stage to connect the left and right sides of the screen.
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c28d7062
Logic Levels
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1984
Developer: FisherPrice
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Use the parts given to you on any given stage to connect the left and right sides of the screen.
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6a2d637b
Looping
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Venture Line, Inc.
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Strap on your goggles, rev up the engines and take off! Your LOOPING plane soars over a world unlike any you've ever imagined. Fire bullets into a rocket station to open the gate.

Beware of launched balloons! Test your flying accuracy and sense of direction by steering your plane through a maze of pipes. You survived? Stranger perils await. There are rooms full of green drops, twinkle monsters and bouncing balls. Can you outsmart them all and reach The End?

--From the Colecovision Looping instruction manual.

Overview:

Looping is a very difficult flying game. It's controls aren't difficult to learn but they are very difficult to master. They are pretty unique in that you can do tight loops (hence the name) with your plane, but it is very difficult to fly straight ahead.

The look of this game is very basic, as most Coleco games are, and is comparable to a kid's light brite pictures. If you never had a light brite (I didn't and I still cry over it), it's a box with a grid of holes across the front. You hang up a thick sheet of black paper and then poke little plastic knobs into it to make designs that a bulb within the box lights up. As you can imagine, these designs are very bright, basic, and geometric. That is what Looping looks like. As for the sound, it's just as basic. There are really only three sounds, the hum of your engine, you shooting, and you exploding when you run into something (which you will do in the beginning... over and over), until you enter the tubing area, when happy corny music will start playing. I find this music particularly amusing since it is usually punctuated and cut off by the noise of my exploding plane almost immediately after it begins.

Directions:

IMPORTANT: This game has airplane controls. When you press up on the joystick the plane will fly downwards and when you press down the plane will fly upwards. Also, if you run into the top of the game screen your plane will be turned completely around, now heading straight for the ground.

This can be useful, but it does not work in the pipe area. This only works in the beginning area (before you go through where the gates were and the music starts) and in the END area (where there are dotted lines across the top and bottom of the screen). In the END area it also applies to the bottom of the screen.

In Looping, you must open gates by shooting the rockets. The orange colored blocks will disappear as you shoot them so you can then shoot any rockets behind them. Then navigate your way through a maze of pipes to the "END". It quite literally says that, and all you have to do is touch the blue line in front of the word END, but this can be very difficult to do with the dots getting in your way. As in most Coleco games, you don't really get new levels, it's basically the same level over and over, but it keeps getting more difficult. You will have more rockets to shoot to get the gates open, more balloons to deal with, and more enemies as the levels progress.

Different enemies will move differently, but all take just one hit to destroy. Balloons will come up from under you and eventually come back down as well. Green drops drip down onto you from pipes, crazy star shapes dance erratically about, and dots slide back and forth and up and down. As you progress, more enemies will appear and familiar enemies may begin to move differently! You always have to be on your toes!

Controls:

Joystick/ D-pad Down: Climb
Joystick/ D-pad Up: Dive
A Button: Accelerates Flight
B Button: Fires
Minus Key: Restarts Game

Hints:

- Take Your Time -
There isn't a time limit in Looping, so just take your time and loop as many times as you need to to get just the right angle or to eliminate your target.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/looping.html
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861c9825,88808cfa
Memory Manor
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Fisher Price
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Flashy platformer.
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3beffc06
Meteoric Shower
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: BIT Corp
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Initially created overseas by Bit Corp., then re-packaged and distributed by Telegames - this game was actually built into the Telegames Personal Arcade system.
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71d1bd4d
Miner 2049er
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Big Five Software
Publisher: Microfun
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
This is a fairly simple and straightforward game that is a bit goofy, but a lot of fun to play. You play a comical little miner with a limited air supply. This game is very pixelated, colorful, and simple to look at, but that's no more than I'd expect from a Coleco game and I still love to play them. I play Colecovision games for their arcade simplicity and skill testing, not for the way they look.

The sounds are pretty traditional blips and bleeps for this type of game. I don't know why everything always makes some kind of strange little noise when you jump in these games, but this one has it too. You'll have no problem knowing when you've been hit because the noise that the game makes as you sink into the ground is terrible.

Directions:

In this game you have to walk over every bit of floor that you can walk over and, in the process, change the color of it, without getting killed by monsters. When you've done this to the entire level, you've beaten that level (the bottom floor does not count and will not change color).

Pick up supplies (axes, picks, shovels) that will turn the monsters blue, which will allow you to kill them (simply by touching them) and gain points from them. Remind you of anything? Ahem, Pac-Man, ahem cough cough. You do have seriously limited time in this game, so really pick up your heels. You have to quickly understand the best way to clear the level, and then execute that plan as fast as possible. Press Up to climb a ladder or Down to go down it. Ride chutes and slides simply by walking over them. To use an elevator, stand in front of it and press the number of the floor that you want to go to. Any time left on your clock (good luck with that, I never have any) will add to your score when you complete a level.

Be really careful when jumping, because this guy is really easy to kill with a fall, and it's even easier when you add the distance of a jump. He will die every time he falls his full height or more (or maybe even a little less). He really only survives half-height falls. This will be one of the more challenging (and sometimes very frustrating) parts of the game, as some places will be impossible to safely get down from and therefore must be cleared last. Even a straight up and down jump on a platform that is moving downwards will kill him.

Controls:

A Button: Jump
B Button: Jump
Minus Key: Start/Restart Game

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/miner_2049er.html
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26fd822a,d1e8df85
Monkey Academy
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
This platform game is about solving arithmetic problems. In the equation one number is missing, you 'll have to find the right number. This game is aimed at young children to help them learn arithmetic problem solving or playing with numbers.

Some monkeys are minding their own business when they see a number missing from their arithmetic problem. Who took it? Another monkey, a crab? And where could it be? The only way to find that out is to go looking for it.

Guide your monkey across the screen and up and down platform levels. Watch out for the crab! If its claws bite you, you lose a monkey. Jump up and pull down shades to find the missing number. When you find it, catch the number bar. Then send it up to your helper monkey. Find three missing numbers and earn bonus points!

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/monkey-academy
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0bd9d073
Montezuma's Revenge
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Parker Brothers
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
PANAMA JOE. That's what they call him 'round these parts: though no one knows his real name or where he comes from. But one thing's for sure. PANAMA JOE's a daredevil from the word "go!" No risk's too great if the reward's large enough. Winning, that's what's most important to him. And more times than not, that's exactly what he does. Because he's tough, clever - resourceful. And sometimes, downright pig-headed! Though occasionally (ah-hum), he's been known to get in over his head. Luckily, he's got a knack for getting himself out of hot water as quickly as he gets into it! Let's hope MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE is one of those times.

--From the Colecovision Montezuma's Revenge instruction manual.

Overview:

This game is very similar to Super Mario Brothers for NES when you were underground in the tunnels. It has that kind of feel. Except in this game you have to collect keys, and the enemies are much different. Also, it looks a little older (cause it is) and a bit more simplified.

The graphics can be a bit confusing, since they are so simple that it makes it hard to tell what the writers intended different things to be, but hey, it's my job to clarify this. With my help you should find this an imminently playable game. I won't give a complete walk through here. I think that just takes all the fun out of it. I will tell you what things are, and then you can find your own way through the game.

The sound effects are extremely basic and limited to blips, bleeps, and static and one short bit of music when you pick up a key or other item. Makes me really miss the underground Mario music.....

If you're looking for a challenge, this game certainly is one.

Directions:

Guide Joe through a maze of rooms, locked doors, different colored keys, enemies, traps, and pitfalls. Pick up keys that are the same color as the doors you want to open. Doors are the solid colored bars that block off spaces (they don't have handles or anything recognizable, they're just bars of color).

Watch out for skulls that roll madly about on the floor or bounce, and snakes which pretty much just sit there. Spiders will chases you up and down ladders, so don't stay on one thinking you're safe. Flames will hurt you and are pretty recognizable as flames. Falling any significant distance will lose you a life.

In some rooms you will find blue force fields. There are two kinds. One looks like chain links and is upright. These will kill you if you touch them. Others are horizontal blue bars with a circle pattern in the center. These will vanish and reappear, and you will fall if you are standing on them when they vanish. Be aware that you can jump upward through things in the game and these force fields are an excellent example of that. There is an area in the game where you will have to walk in front of them and then jump up through and onto them as they appear, using them to create steps to an otherwise unreachable area. You can also jump upwards through bricks and conveyor belts. Conveyor belts are pretty obvious. They are red-orange and have little triangles on them. Watching the triangles will tell you which direction the conveyor belt is moving in. When you land on one you will be carried in the same direction that the triangles are moving in (and right over the edge if you aren't careful). Ropes are grey with a triangular shape at the top. Ropes are the only exception to falling a great distance and dying. You can drop really far before grabbing onto a rope and still be fine.

Keys are worth 50 points a piece and are displayed in the upper left corner of the screen, but their real value is their ability to get you into new rooms. Opening a door will gain you 300 points. A hammer is worth 400 points, but again the points aren't the real value. Hammers give you the ability to get past the monsters without being hurt for a short time. You can tell this is in effect because there will be a small green hammer in the upper left corner of the screen and the enemies will all turn grey. Swords are worth 50 points and will allow you to kill one skull or spider per sword you have. These are also displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. Killing a skull with a sword will gain you 2,000 points. Spiders are worth 3,000 points. You cannot kill snakes with swords. Enemies that you kill (or get killed by) will stay gone until the next level. Red rectangles with a thin border (I guess they're meant to be gems) are worth 1,000 points. 10,000 points gains you an extra life. The little red hat shapes in the top left corner of the screen are your lives.

You do get one continue if you press A or B in the GAME OVER screen. It will start you back where you were with any items you had.

Controls:

A Button: Jump
B Button: Jump

Hints:

- Have a Little Faith -
You will eventually find yourself in a room that is all black except for a disappearing force field and fire below it (if you're heading in the right direction). Time your jump from the ladder (which is also black) and land on the force field and run to your right. From here you will find more screens that are similar to this one. Just keep going right. Careful... when you come to a room where the fire makes a bowl in the center don't continue walking. Instead jump into that bowl. You'll find yourself in a stage where all you have to do is jump around and collect gems (without worry of dying) and it is the last stage in the level! Note: there will be doors that are black in the black rooms that require grey keys.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/montezumas_revenge.html
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8a303f5a,c521bcad
Moonsweeper
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - First Person
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Imagic
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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This is a very strange space-based shooter. I can't really make a comparison between it and any other game as far as action goes. The movement is very fast and unusual. You fly a ship that has great maneuverability side-to-side, dodging enemies and towers and picking up miners off the surfaces of moons. The graphics are simple and strange, and faintly reminiscent of 3-D World Runner. When you're on a moon, there are different colored bars that alternate and roll up over the horizon towards you that really make me think of 3-D World Runner.

As far as sound effects go, this is another that I'd love to put in the S.A.T.A.B.R.B.E.T.T.V.O.O.M.T.G.C.A.T.T.O.A.T.O.O.O.C category which stands for "small annoyances that are best resolved by either turning the volume off or muting the game completely and then turning on a tune of one's own choice". The noises are just terrible. They are jarring and staticky and a little buggy. Unfortunately, the noises are pretty necessary since you can't really tell when you've picked up a miner without the noises. Still, you should give this game a shot. If you love arcade and Colecovision games like these then you've probably heard enough of those types of noises to know exactly what I mean. It doesn't mean we don't play them.

Directions:

The higher the number you pick in the beginning, the harder that level will be. Pick a number just by passing your cross-hairs over it. Each time you complete a moon you will be taken back to this screen.

There will be two aspects of this game which have different controls and goals:

Whilst you are in space, many objects will fly at you to try and destroy you.

The main thing to remember is that moons are very obvious, round, and the same size circle every time no matter what color they are. They can be blue, green, yellow, or red, progressing in difficulty in this same order from easiest to hardest. Moons are the ONLY thing you want to run into. Throw your shields up against everything else, or shoot the other things down before they get to you. Note that, as you move, the path of these objects moves as well. So, moving around too much will make it more difficult to land on a moon.

To use your shields simply press back on the joystick. You only have enough fuel to run your shields for a little while. The bar on the fuel gauge will start at an angle just a bit below the 'L' in the word FUEL. As you use the fuel it will move up and over the word in a counter-clockwise motion. When it reaches roughly the same point on the other side of the gauge (just a bit below the 'F' in the word fuel, not all the way back around to the starting position) you will automatically lose a life. Your fuel is replenished each time you complete a moon.

To land on a moon, simply run your space ship into one. You cannot land on a moon while you are using your shields.

The game changes as you fly over the surfaces of the moons. You can accelerate and slow down while on the surface of a moon, but you cannot use your shields.

Moons will have small satellite-looking enemies that will shoot at you. Also, moons will have miners (small, black, star-shaped, vaguely man-looking thingies) and towers (red, triangular thingies). While towers don't shoot at you, they can become very difficult to avoid if you get going really fast. You can shoot towers to earn points, or just avoid them altogether.

On a moon, you will see enemies that fly across the top of the screen. To shoot these enemies you must press down and fire. This aims your shots up into the air. Of course, it also slows you down and takes your eyes off of what is in your way, so be careful.

It is very important to know that you can shoot miners (and for some reason they explode when you shoot them, not that that part is important, but it is curious). You really don't want to do this since you need 5 of them to get off the surface of the moon. After you have picked up your five miners you can leave. Of course, you'll have to get off the surface of the moon first. To do that you'll need to fly through a few of those white things that only appear after you pick up your miner quota. The white things look vaguely like bull horns (the kind on an animal that snorts, paws the ground, and then runs you over, not the kind used for communication). Fly through the center of these and after you've gone over enough of them you will be taken back to the beginning screen to choose a new difficulty and start over, with your newly accumulated points, of course.

Controls:

A Button: Fires
B Button: Fires
Joystick Down: Shields (Only in Space)

Hints:

- Take a Central Path -
When you get over into the lower left corner of the screen the objects coming at you will take a path that leads them off of the screen where you can't see them. When they reenter they will be right on top of you and you won't get a chance to react to them. It's best to remain in the center of the screen as much as possible, where you can see things comin' at ya.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/moonsweeper.html
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935ebe62,0f4d800a
Motocross Racer
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Xonox
Publisher: Xonox
Players: 1
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Motocross Racer is a bike racing game where you need to race through three different scenes in the shortest amount of time possible. Each scene takes place in a different location with a different perspective. First you will race through the desert with a 3-D behind the bike point of view. Rocks, cacti, scorpions, and other obstacles should be avoided or you'll crash and lose valuable time. Next you'll race a winding path uphill through the woods. This section has a top down view, and you'll lose time if you wander off the track or crash into obstacles. The final segment of the race takes place on the beach with a side scrolling point of view. Various obstacles and other racers will all get in your way here! If you crash too many times, or take too long the game will be over.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/motocross-racer
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d8d73246,c173bbec
Mountain King
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: E.F. Dreyer, Inc.
Publisher: Sunrise
Players: 1
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Deep within a multi platformed diamond mine is a valuable crown. Your goal is to locate and retrieve the crown, then make it to the top of the mine alive! There are several steps that need to be completed before you can retrieve the crown. First you need to collect enough diamonds to earn 1,000 points. After you have enough points, you need to locate the flame spirit which is hidden somewhere within the mine. Since the mine is rather dark, you carry a flashlight with you which can be used to locate objects (such as treasure chests full of diamonds and the flame spirit.) Once you have the flame spirit, you need to find the entrance to the temple the crown is in. Offer the flame spirit to the skull spirit guarding the entrance, and you can get in and take the crown. Once you have the crown, you need to make it to the top of the mine before time runs out. To make this task more challenging, numerous cave bats fly around which can steal the crown. If this happens, you need to begin again!

At the very bottom of the mine is a deadly spider; if you're not careful while exploring this region of the mine, you could become caught in it's web and be eaten. Each level has a time limit, and the more levels you complete the shorter the time limit becomes!

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/mountain-king
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fd8b79b3,07e0e4a1
Mousetrap
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Exidy
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Based on the fun-filled arcade game, Exidy's MOUSE TRAP for COLECOVISION features a cheese-chomping mouse that you dash around a maze. Open and shut maze doors to escape the pursuing cats. Eat a bone, then turn your mouse into a cat-biting dog. But watch out for the treacherous hawk!

--From the Colecovision Mouse Trap instruction manual.

Overview:

Another really awesome and addictive maze/eating game. Why the characters must always be eating something in these games we may never know. This one is very similar to Lady Bug in that you can change the maze to keep the baddies off your tail, except in this one you literally have a tail. Also different is that the baddies aren't nearly as fast in the beginning, the pieces you change can be changed without the mouse having to touch them, there are three different changeable maze pieces, and you can actually create a safe place that cats cannot reach at all.

The noise that occurs when you run into a cat (in other words get eaten) is very surprised and kind of pitiful. The music will certainly get your nerves worked up and make you feel like you truly are in danger. I dunno... maybe I played it too long... The look of the game is much like Pac Man and Lady Bug. The walls are outlined in green and there are little yellow dots on the screen that you have to eat.

Directions:

Speed through the maze collecting the little dots of cheese and avoiding the cats and the hawk. On skill level one you don't have to contend with the hawk. On any level after that, the hawk will appear and fly around the screen, unhampered by the same barriers that block the cats.

If he gets you, you lose a life. Also, the cats gets faster and smarter the higher the skill level gets, and there will be more of them!

The red X-shapes are actually meant to be bones. Collect these to change into a dog at will by pressing number 5 on your keyboard. This allows you to eat the cats (they will go back to their position outside the maze for a bit, and you'll get points for it, but the important thing is that YOU didn't get eaten). Only one bone is needed to make the change, and they do carry over from level to level, but with a max of 5. So, don't waste them by picking up more when you already have five. Also, being a dog doesn't protect you from the hawk, so apparently it's a really friggin' big hawk and you're a lap dog or something. Using our logic then: big enough to eat a cat + small enough to get eaten by a hawk= Pomeranian? O.K. so the best use of this special Pomeranian ability is when you're in a tight spot, a kind of get out of the cat's mouth free card.

There are some extra items in the game that give you points: The red wedges of Swiss cheese are worth 1,000 points. The Key is worth 1,200 points. The eye glasses are worth 1,400 points. The candle is worth 1,500 points.

IMPORTANT NOTE

If you want to choose a different skill level you will have to reset the game. When you hit the minus key, it restarts you with whatever skill level you chose at first, and you don't get the option to change.

Controls:

Number 1 on Keyboard: Changes Red Parts of Maze
Number 2 on Keyboard: Changes Yellow Parts of Maze
Number 3 on Keyboard: Changes Blue Parts of Maze
Minus Key: Restarts Game
Number 5 on Keyboard: Changes Mouse Into Dog

Hints:

- Cat Jump -
Watch it as you go past the areas where the cats prowl just outside the wall. They can 'jump' out at a moment's notice. You get a small amount of warning in the way they walk in place for just a second before they get out, but that's not always enough warning!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/mouse_trap.html
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461ab6ad
Mr Do!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Universal
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Guide Mr. Do as he tries to harvest his orchard before the evil Badguys can catch him. Quick! Mow a path to the cherries and start picking! But watch out--here comes a Badguy! Throw your Power Ball to squelch him. But more are on the way, so run until your Power Ball comes back.

You're not completely defenseless, though. You can push apples on top of the Badguys to quash their pursuit. Now dash to the center of the screen and capture the treat. Even though the Badguys freeze for a few moments, three Blue Chompers and an Alphamonster enter the scene. But don't let them near Mr. Do! Eliminate all five Alphamonsters to spell E-X-T-R-A and win an extra Mr Do!

--From the Colecovision Mr. Do! instruction manual.

Overview:

Do the Mr. Do!, if you liked Dig Dug. This game is very similar to that one. There are monsters that run around trying to get you, and you have get them before they get you and/or get the fruit from your orchard. In this game you are 'mowing' a path instead of digging one. The graphics look much like Dig Dug. The screen is black, with different colors of whatever in the world it is that you are mowing down to get around the orchard. When you mow, the color vanishes to reveal the black underneath. The designs are fairly basic and repetitive, but easy to understand. The music is happy and corny, but not that annoying. The sound effects aren't anything really grand. They are your basic blips and bleeps and get the job done, but you're not likely playing this kind of game because you just love to listen to it.

Directions:

Maneuver Mr. Do around his orchard, mowing or walking pre-mown paths. Black areas don't need mowing and are slightly faster, which is useful to know when you have a baddie right on your tail. Collect all of the cherries or kill all of the enemies to complete a level.

You can kill enemies with the apples that are on the board by either mowing under them (which for some strange reason makes them fall) and dropping the apple onto them or pushing the apples off onto the enemies. The apples will move down any vertical black path as if falling. Watch out, because it can be just as easy to squish yourself with an apple as a baddie.

Mr. Do also has the ability to shoot baddies with a Power Ball. The Power Ball will move randomly down a path until it kills something or runs back into you (it won't hurt you), so only throw it when you know the ball has no other choice but to hit your enemy. It takes a few seconds to regain your ability to throw a ball, so be careful. The game will make a special sound when you throw the ball and a similar one when it returns.

When all of the enemies have moved away from the center of the screen, you will notice some kind of treat there. When you get this treat an Alphamonster will appear, along with three other new baddies that will chomp their way through the grass coming after you, and all enemies that were already there will pause in what they were doing. The Alphamonsters have letters on them that you will gain when you kill one. When you kill an Alphamonster for each of the letters in the word EXTRA spelled across the top of the screen you will get an extra life. Watch where the Alphamonster is at the top of the screen and grab the treat when it is on a letter you don't already have. If you get the treat while it's on a letter you already have, the baddies will still pause for a bit, but you will lose a chance to get an extra life.

Just because you're on the other side of a wall of "grass" doesn't mean that you're safe from the monsters. Some will come mowing after you. Sometimes it will seem that the baddies can't get to you because you've watched them run into the walls and stop before, but sometimes they will change color and come through the wall after you. This happens most often when they are blocked by apples.

Cherries can be partially eaten, so be sure you don't leave any bits behind. The sounds the game makes as you eat the cherries will be very helpful in figuring out whether or not you've gotten them all. When you do it quickly you should go through a musical scale of eight ascending notes. Also note that Mr. Do does not make tight turns well and will have to move to the end of a block before he will be able to make a turn. Sometimes it is impossible to get him to turn when he gets stuck behind or under an apple, and you must backtrack to get around it.

Controls:

A Button: Throw Power Ball
B Button: Throw Power Ball
Minus Key: Restart Game

Hints:

- Apples -
Break all of the apples in every level and sometimes you will find a diamond. The diamond will allow you to move on to the next round immediately.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/mr_do.html
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ef7e9562
Mr Do's Castle
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Universal
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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This hammer-happy game begins as MR. DO! enters his humble home through the basement. With hammer in hand, he's ready to confront his invaders head on. Guide MR. DO! up and down ladders, down hallways--even drop him off landings or through openings in the floor. But above all, keep him a safe distance from all the deadly unicorns. One bite and he's a goner!

--From the Colecovision Mr. Do!'s Castle instruction manual.

Overview:

Mr. Do!'s Castle is completely different in game-play from the other Mr. Do! for Colecovision. Where you ran around in the orchard in Mr. Do!, in Mr. Do!'s Castle the enemies have gotten into your home! Game-play is much more comparable to Space Panic for the Colecovision than for the other Mr. Do!, since this is a platform style game where you move up and down levels on the screen. Also, you can make holes in the levels in a similar way.

This game has more colors and the shapes are more delicate than the other Mr. Do!, but there is still happy corny music, though it's slightly different. As for which game is better, it really boils down to what kind of game you prefer. They both fall into the skill category but Mr. Do! is more like Dig Dug and Mr. Do!'s Castle is like Space Panic. All in all, this is a new and different kind of game without one being better or worse than the other.

Directions:

As I said, this game is different than the other Mr. Do! for Colecovision. In this game, you are inside of Mr. Do!'s castle and must defend yourself against Unicorns instead of Chompers and Bad Guys, but if you smash both key tiles through the floor (smash tiles through the floor by walking up beside them and pressing A or B) the Unicorns will turn into Alphamonsters.

Well, to actually make them turn, after you've smashed the keys, you have to get up to the top level and grab the Plus Sign. Alphamonsters still give you the letters to spell the word EXTRA and you still get an extra life when you spell the whole word as you did in Mr. Do!. Smash Alphamonsters with your hammer to collect their letters. Unicorns cannot be killed by smashing them with the hammer, only Alphamonsters can be killed this way. The only way to kill Unicorns is to drop tiles down on top of them, or if you're lucky, sometimes smashing a tile out from under them kills them, but usually they simply fall into the hole it leaves. Here, as in the other Mr. Do!, there are two ways to beat a level. You can either eliminate all of the enemies or smash all of the cherry tiles.

Skull tiles will drop a whole set of tiles down when you knock both of them down, and you will still be able to walk across the area where the set of tiles fell from. This is a great way to smash enemies below you!

There will be three different kinds of Unicorns you will have to deal with and one will be progressively faster than the next. Red-Green-Blue is the progression of speed. Also, like in Space Panic, you can hammer Unicorns down through the floor if they have fallen into a hole, only this does not kill Unicorns. This only stops them from climbing back out and chasing you or filling back in that space since, as they climb back out of holes they fall into, they replace the floor there. This floor tile will be plain and worth 20 points each. You cannot smash blue Unicorns through the floor and if you smash a green Unicorn through the floor it will become a blue Unicorn, so only do that if you are in a really tight spot. Also, if you spend too much time on a level all the Unicorns will begin to turn blue, thus making it much harder.

You can move up and down ladders by pressing up while you are standing under one and down while you are standing on top of one. Some ladders can be kicked over to another platform. To do this, simply walk towards the ladder (where the top of a ladder meets a platform) and Mr. Do! will kick it when he reaches it and the top end will swing over in the direction you kicked it. This means you cannot use these ladders to go downwards, only upwards. But hey! Falling doesn't hurt you!

Controls:

A Button: Use Hammer, Start Game
B Button: Use Hammer, Start Game
Minus Key: Pauses Game

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/mr_dos_castle.html
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ea06f585
Nova Blast
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Horizontally Scrolling
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Imagic
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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"Emergency! Nova 1 to Ground Control! I'm the last of the fleet! They've all gone down!"

"We read you, Nova 1. Are the Capsulated Cities still Intact?"

"Affirmative. But air enemies and Water Walkers are moving in."

"Status of Nova 1. Any damage?"

"I can take about six more hits, Ground Control."

"Proceed on course, Nova 1. Save our Capsulated Cities at all costs! You're our last hope. Over."

I read you loud and clear, Ground Control. Over and out."

--From the Colecovision Nova Blast instruction manual.

Overview:

Another space ship flyer for the Colecovision. This game is very similar to Missile Command in that you have cities to defend from alien attacks. Though the graphics aren't fantastic, they are a good sight better than Missile Command. There is a decent looking background with some planets and stars, with water below. Your cities are in this water, and you fly back and forth over it to protect them.

The noises are quirky and kinda cool. They are admittedly blips and bleeps (which I have before stated I don't really like), but they have a whistling rising and falling quality to them that makes them less monotonous and so don't sound so much like hospital machines. This game also side-scrolls and wraps around, so you can just keep flying in one direction and eventually return to where you started from.

Directions:

Defend your cities on the water from attacking aliens. Your cities are red and domed by a flashing white dome. They can only take a small amount of damage, eight hits, before they explode. If all of your cities are destroyed the game ends.

Enemies will pop up all over the place near all of your cites. They will be in the sky and on the water, but it's O.K. Your little ship can haul booty. In fact I find more often than not that I zip right on past my target, so keep an eye on the little scanner at the bottom that tells you where you are, where your cities are, and which cities are under attack. When a city is being attacked you will hear an alarm.

In the bottom left corner of the screen you will see your energy gauge. Whenever you run into an enemy or enemy fire you will lose some energy. If your energy runs out, the game will end. Pick up more energy when you need it from the red energy towers in the water. You can pick up only a certain amount at a time, and only when you see the electrical lines running between the towers.

You can also pick up energy from the energy towers and transfer it to cities that have lost or are losing their shields. To do this, simply hover over an energy tower and press and hold A. When you've gotten all the energy you can from that tower, you will begin to drop bombs and the line between you and the towers will vanish. Now you can either keep this energy for yourself, if you need it, or take it over to a city that needs it. To give it to the city simply hover over the city and do the same as you did to gain the energy. Giving energy to cities enables them to take more hits without being destroyed.

The more cites you have left after destroying all of the threats, the larger the bonus you will receive at the end of a round.

Controls:

A Button: Drops Bombs/ Recharges Energy When Over Energy Towers
B Button: Fires
Backspace: Resets Game

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/nova_blast.html
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add10242
Oil's Well
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Thomas MITCHELL and Don Mc GLAUFLIN
Publisher: Sierra
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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You're rich. . . maybe. Geologists have just located one of the largest oil deposits in North America, on your land! But you have to get it out of the ground before you can spend it.

The other oil barons are jealous, and they would do anything to sabotage your operation. They have planted oozies and land mines in your oil fields to wreck your drilling equipment. Don't let them cheat you out of your millions!

--From the Colecovision Oil's Well instruction manual.

Overview:

Oil's Well has very challenging game-play and the controls can be a bit difficult to master, but if you like games like Pac-Man and Mr. Do! that are skill challenges, you will probably like this one as well.

The colors are neon and simple against black backgrounds, like most Colecovision games are. The colors change from level to level so you don't get bored too easily or just plain tired of the way it looks. There isn't really any music, just a constant creepy low alarm sound that I feel really matches the look of the Halloween monster Oozies (did you think they meant a gun in the manual too? Personally I was wondering how planting guns alone with no one to shoot them would get the bad guys anywhere). The sound effects are kooky and weird but fun.

Directions:

First let me say that, in the options, 'Regular' means slower and fewer enemies and land mines, 'Unleaded' means faster enemies and more land mines, and 'Premium' means a lot more and the fastest enemies as well as land mines that can enter the first line.

Toggle to which one you want to choose with the joystick, and then press A to begin the game with that setting.

O.K. This is a strange one. I've never played a game that's quite like this one. You must guide your drill bit (which to me looks like a little Pac-Man on the end of a pipe) through a maze and gather all of the oil (which looks like the little dots Pac-Man eats) and not run into any land mines with the bit or let any enemies touch the pipe. You must also deal with a time limit. It starts at 990 at the beginning of the level and slowly counts down (you'll see this in the central box at the top of the screen). Also, there is a large dot (kinda like in Pac-Man, you may be noticing a trend here) that will seriously slow the enemies and mines down for a little while. You can take this time to either go eat them or finish the level (again much like Pac-Man). As you make your way downward, enemies will appear up top above your drill bit and you will have to retract the bit and eat them before they touch the pipe! Simply running into a monster with the drill bit will eat that monster, but be careful. You don't want to run into mines with the drill bit. Mines are just the opposite of monsters. Whereas, if a monster touches the pipe you lose a drill bit, and you kill monsters with the drill bit; if a mine touches the drill bit you lose a drill bit, but mines will pass by the pipes without hurting you.

Other than the flashing mines and monsterish monsters (which can be worth anywhere from 20 points to 170 points for every monster you eat) there are also flashing blue cups. These give you 1,000 bonus points. Oil pellets are worth 10 points a pellet, except for the large slow down ones which are worth 20 points each. Every 10,000 points you will gain an extra drill bit, and these are located in the top left corner of the screen. Remember, drill bits are your lives for this game!

Controls:

A Button: Retracts Bit, Starts Game
B Button: Retracts Bit
Number 1 Key: Pauses Game

Hints:

- Choose Carefully -
Be careful about which path you take down. Those closest to the edge will give you the least amount of time to react to any enemies that approach above your drill bit. Try to choose a path closer to the center of the screen.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/oils_well.html
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Omega Race
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Multi-Directional
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Midway
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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*
In Coleco's OMEGA RACE, command a starship in the weightlessness of a deep-space training field. Bounce off barriers to pilot your Omega fighter in skirmishes against the Droid forces. Fire laser blasts at the enemy while evading return fire from the fleet-leader. If you eliminate the first fleet, others follow. But if you take too long, the Droids become Death Ships that track and blast at your fighter and drop mines as additional hazards!

--From the Colecovision Omega Race instruction manual.

Overview:

This is an incredible game of skill. Supposedly you are just training and not actually fighting aliens in this one, but whoever is running this simulation isn't giving you any breaks. One might wonder if you are supposed to be inside the ship that is exploding or if you are just supposed to be playing a game (as you are). In this training, you are in a "padded room" that allows you to bounce off the walls quite literally.

Feel free to put on Phish before you "go bouncin' 'round the room". It's sure to increase your enjoyment since the music for this game is non extant. There are only a few notes at the beginning of each round, followed by a rather annoying "Jaws"-like blipping as the ships creep up on you. O.K., so that's not exactly non extant, but I don't consider it to be music. It falls better into the "small annoyances that are best resolved by either turning the volume off or muting the game completely and then turning on a tune of my own choice" category or S.A.T.A.B.R.B.E.T.T.V.O.O.M.T.G.C.A.T.T.O.A.T.O.M.O.C for short. Memorize this because it may come up again in later reviews (only joking folks!).

In all seriousness, the game isn't really much to look at or listen to, after the fashion of most games for the Colecovision, but that doesn't mean it's not worth playing! This game has a pretty unique style of play that is very difficult to master and worth trying to!

Directions:

You can choose one or two players or head to head. Two player and head to head will alternate turns between you and your friend. After you choose one of those options you will get another set of options.

Fast bounce will speed up bouncing. Tunnel will create a small tunnel in the middle of the rectangular box at the center of the screen, allowing you to fly through the center instead of always having to go around. Astro Gates will give you a small gap in the top and bottom of the screen. These gaps wrap around to each other so that if you fly out through the top one you will reenter the screen coming up from the bottom one. When it asks you to press '#' you should press the '=' key instead.

When you begin the game, an enemy ship will break off from the others and begin moving. This ship will flash and it will also shoot at you. The others will remain where they are. When you shoot this moving ship, one of the stationary ones will take its place and begin to come after you. I recommend taking out the stationary ships first so as to prevent this. Use the thrust in short bursts and the joystick to rotate the ship in the direction you want to go. As you progress in levels, more ships will be coming after you in the beginning and the stationary ones will begin to migrate around the screen, making them more difficult to hit. If you run into anything except walls in this game you are toast. You will simply bounce off of any wall you run into, including those around the rectangle in the center of the screen. Along with enemy ships and fire to avoid, there will also be mines. The lead ships will begin to drop these if you take too long to kill them. Shoot everything! That's really the best policy.

Controls:

A Button: Thrust
B Button: Fire
Minus Key: Pauses Game
Joystick: Rotate Ship

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/omega_race.html
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One on One Basketball
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Basketball
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Micro-Fun
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
The ancestor of Jordan vs Bird! Featuring the legendary Larry BIRD!
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Pepper II
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Exidy
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
There's plenty of fasten-ating action in Coleco's PEPPER II from Exidy. Guide your Pepper angel up the track. It's like a zipper! Zip all the tracks around a room, then zip an entire maze! You can zip through four different mazes, then try four more, only this time the tracks can disappear!

But PEPPER II is still more tricky. Roaming Eyes rush after you from every maze exit. A Zipper Ripper unzips all the tracks that don't surround rooms. What's a poor Pepper angel to do? Enclose a room containing a pitchfork or a magic box and briefly change into an Eye-catching devil! The fun can get only wilder as this crazy-maze game zips on!

--From the Colecovision Pepper 2 instruction manual.

Overview:

If you like Pac-Man, play this game!

This is another truly awesome puzzle game. If you know me, then you know I love a good puzzle game, and this one, this one is awesome. Did I say that already? Ah well, it's awesome.

Pepper 2 is very much like Pac-Man, and yet refreshingly differently. You run around on a pre-set path, you can eat enemies if you perform a certain task, and you are a little, yellow, circular thing (most of the time). That's where the similarities end. In this game you are a pepper angel (I just love that name) which apparently means you zip things up like a zipper on blue jeans. Similar to the oriental game Go, you are trying to cordon off areas by surrounding them. It requires speed as well as thought, as you are being chased by enemies who will move faster the longer you take!

The colors and designs are pretty neat and fun to watch. The background is black, and there will be a bright purple and blue zipper over this, and as you zip off areas they will fill in with brightly colored different patterns.

The music is awesome! At the beginning of each level there is a small amount of music that makes me want to watch an old Alfred Hitchcock show, and there's a bit more music for each bonus and each time you turn into a devil. I'm usually very annoyed by Colecovision and arcade game noises and music, but I genuinely like this one.

Directions:

Run around the maze and zip up boxes as you go. If you pass over an area more than once before you zip up the whole box, you will unzip it. You must travel the entire perimeter of a box without back tracking over any area to zip the box up. This isn't nearly as hard as it sounds. Of course, that's not to say that it's easy.

Monsters will come onto the track and make your job harder. These guys enter from the portals on each side of the mazes and will move faster if you take too long to complete a puzzle. You can reset the amount of time it takes for them to begin to move faster by moving on to a different maze.

The portals lead to other mazes with a total of four mazes per round. Each maze is numbered and every portal is numbered as well. Portals will take you to the same number maze as the portal number. At the bottom of the screen is a gauge with numbers on it that will fill in as you complete mazes, so you will know which ones are complete and which ones aren't. This can be very useful, since you may have just missed one little line somewhere and won't notice it at a glance, but the gauge will tell you so you can know for sure which maze is missing something.

There are many items you can pick up during game play. Most of them are only worth points. However, pitchforks will change you into a devil. While you are a devil you can eat the monsters. You and the monsters will change color while this is in effect. Be careful, this only lasts a limited amount of time.

Any partially zipped pieces will disappear if you move on to a different maze without completing them. If you have changed to a devil on one screen, you will be a devil in the next maze if you move on, for the amount of devil time you have remaining.

If you start the game on any skill level higher than 1, you will have to deal with the Zipper Ripper. He's green and he's as fast as you are (which is pretty fast), and he'll run around the screen unzipping any incomplete zips (any that don't completely surround a filled in box). If you run into him you will lose a life. When you are a devil you cannot kill this guy, however, he will stop running around the track and you will be able to touch him without being hurt. You can move over him without any harm and won't have to go around him while in devil mode. Another thing that begins to happen the longer you play or the higher the skill level you chose in the beginning, is that the tracks will begin to disappear. The intersections (places where more than one track meet) will be left visible, but not every intersection has four routes you can take from it, and it can be difficult to choose which route to take when you're, quite literally, in the dark.

Controls:

Joystick: Moves Character

Hints:

- Take it Easy -
Like most gamers, I tend to press the joystick full-throttle, all the way it'll go, in whatever direction I want to go, all the time. Here, it helps to just tap it sometimes. When you tap a direction the pepper angel will move only to the next intersection. This will keep you from crazily running back and forth past intersections.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/pepper_2.html
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Pitfall!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
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Pitfall! was one of the most popular games sold in the early 1980's. First created for Atari 2600 and then for other systems, like this ColecoVision version. In Pitfall! you assume the role of adventurer Pitfall Harry, roaming a jungle maze and searching for treasure while avoiding the "pitfalls" that exist therein. All sorts of nasties, such as scorpions, snakes and crocodiles, await Harry and stand between him and his lust for riches.

I would have to say this version is as primitive as the original Atari game. Not necessarily saying bad things about it, but obviously the programmers did not take full advantage of ColecoVision's graphical capabilities. Plays the same, and controller action is good. Timing is the key to making jumps. Harry runs through the jungle to the sound of his own feet, and "bloop" represents the sound of leaping through the air and falling. Also, there's that classic Tarzan yell when Pitfall Harry grabs hold of a swinging vine. Great game and gameplay, the classic Pitfall! in its raw, primal form. Can I get a "Cro-Magnon"?

Directions:

Within a 20 minute time limit, Harry must navigate a split screen jungle maze and collect all 32 treasures, while avoiding numerous hazards by jumping over them or swinging on vines. Harry will automatically grab the vine when he jumps into it.

Push the joystick down to release when he's clear of any obstacles. Included in the list of dangers are: logs, fires, tarpits, quicksand, snakes, scorpions and crocodiles. With the exception of the logs, contact with any of the above will cost Harry a life. Failure to jump over a log results in loss of points, as does falling into a hole to the lower level of the screen.

Controls:

Left Fire: Jump
Right Fire: Jump

Hints:

- Treasures and point values -
Money Bag: 2000
Silver Bar: 3000
Gold Bar: 4000
Diamond Ring: 5000

- Look Before You Leap -
Time your directional jumps to clear hazards. Also, crocodiles are safe to jump onto when their mouths are closed. Position Harry where the croc's eyes are and he'll still be safe when they open their mouths.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/pitfall.html
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Pitfall! II: The Lost Caverns
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1
_________________________
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You play Pitfall Harry searching for the Raj diamond, his niece Rhonda, and a variety of treasures somewhere in the Andes. Poisonous frogs, eels, scorpions, bats and other hazards get in the way. Pitfall II is the sequel to Pitfall, the original platform game. Gameplay has remained pretty much the same, with each screen presenting a side view of obstacles to get past, and potentially treasures to collect. The landscape is more maze like, with a variety of paths and dead ends to search. Along the way there are checkpoints the player will encounter. When the player dies, Pitfall Harry will be sent back to the most recently crossed checkpoint.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/pitfall-ii-lost-caverns
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Pitstop
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Epix
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 to 4 Alternating
_________________________
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Get your speed up and your timing down. PITSTOP challenges you to master six of the most unforgiving race tracks in the world.

If you survive the hairpin turns of the famous Monaco Grand Prix, and the grueling pace of the Le Mans, then the narrow Kyalami straight-aways wait to eat you alive. Even seasoned professionals dread the icy, snow capped Albi inclines and the merciless heat of the Jarama desert. But the worst of them all is St. Jovite which has a nasty reputation as a racer's graveyard. Until you get a few laps under your belt, you'll need a practice run on each of these monsters of the Racing World. Then it's on to the Mini or Grand Circuits where the real test begins.

The Mini Circuit presents you with a random selection of three of the six famed race tracks, you never know which one you'll be racing next. Then, when you think you have the skills required, try your luck on the Grand Circuit. Only the top professional drivers have the endurance to survive each of the six grueling races which comprise the Grand Circuit. When you start to get a feel for some of the races, boost your number of laps per race. You'll be frantically searching for a pitstop around every curve.

Each of the six courses will push your high performance race car to the limit. The harder you drive the faster you run out of fuel, and the sooner your tires break down from the strain. But wait! Don't panic! Look at your radar map of the track, the nearest pitstop which seemed a hundred miles away, is just around the corner. Watch for the entrance and slow down, or you'll miss your only chance for survival. Pull into the pits and prepare your crew to race the clock.

Remember even the best driver in the world is only as good as his pit crew.

--From the Colecovision Pitstop instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/pitstop.html
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Popeye
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Parker Brothers
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Popeye is a conversion of the arcade action/platform game. As Popeye, you are trying to win Olive Oyl's love! She is at the top of the screen dropping tokens of her love, and you need to collect them before they hit the ground. After you have collected the required number of items, you can move on to the next, more difficult level. There are many obstacles trying to stop you from completing your task, though! Brutus wanders around the screen and is constantly trying to catch you. If you collect a can of spinach, you can temporarily knock him out, otherwise Brutus will knock you out. Other objects such as bottles or birds are also flying around the screen and will cause you to lose one of your lives if you are hit. Each level features a different layout of platforms and ladders, and will have you collecting different items as they float towards the bottom of the screen!

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/popeye
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Q-Bert
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: D. Gottlieb
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
To score as many points as possible by changing the color of the cubes on the pyramid from a starting color to a destination color. You'll do this by hopping Q bert from cube to cube while avoiding the "nasty" characters who will try to stop him. Each time you complete a pyramid, you'll proceed to a new pyramid--or round. Try to complete as many rounds as you can. There are six separate games; nine levels in each game, and four rounds per level.

--From the Colecovision Q Bert instruction manual.

Overview:

This is the Coleco adaption of the arcade classic Q Bert, and like most other Colecovision games of the time, it is a solid representation of the original for the home console. Controller action and playability are excellent. A round starts with a short tune and Q Bert hops around a pyramid of cubes accompanied by boingy, spring-like sound effect. Q Bert changes the color of the cubes he lands on and must avoid several hazards that appear on the pyramid. Q Bert is an arcade classic, and this particular version does a good job capturing its original allure. It's good fun and I highly recommend checking it out, if you haven't already.

Directions:

Q bert begins each level at the top of the pyramid, and you must maneuver him around by jumping from square to square. When Q Bert lands on a square, it changes color. In the upper left-hand corner of the screen is a square with the target color to which the entire pyramid must be changed.

When all squares have been converted to that color, the level is completed. Later levels require changing the color of the squares twice to reach the target color.

In your quest to chromatically alter the pyramid, Q Bert must avoid the balls that randomly bounce down the pyramid, as well as outwit a pesky snake, who relentlessly chases you. Should you occupy the same square with either of these hazards or leap off the side of the pyramid, you lose a life. There are several multi-colored discs on the side of the pyramid which will carry Q*Bert safely to the top if you jump on them. Once he is carried to the top, the disc disappears. There is also a gremlin who hops across the squares and changes them back to their original color. Q*Bert can land on him to prevent him from changing the colors of the squares.

Controls:

Joystick: Move Q Bert

Hints:

- It's a Long Way to the Top -
When the snake is pursuing Q Bert closely, you can hop on the multi-colored disc. As Q Bert is being transported safely to the top of the pyramid, the snake will leap after him and fall to his demise.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/q_bert.html
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Q-Bert II: Q-Bert's Qubes
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Mylstar Electronics
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Take several rows of suspended "three-dimensional" qubes that rotate in space. Drop onto them some very weird creatures in pursuit of a guy with a nose for tumbling those qubes to various colors, and what have you got?

You've got one of the wackiest games you may ever play! And a most challenging one. You may need to match two or even three rows of qubes in one round. And then there is always someone -- or some thing -- trying to stop you... not to mention undo what you've always done. It's great fun, too. When was the last time you met a Meltnik or a Shoobop?

--From the Colecovision Q Bert's Qubes instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/q_berts_qubes.html
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Quest For Quintana Roo
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: VSS
Publisher: Sunrise Software
Players: 1
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You are Yucatan Sam on a quest to explore the temple of Quintana Roo. Your goal is to find the vault which is hidden somewhere within and return with the treasure that is inside. You begin your quest outside the temple; climb your way up the side of the temple in order to get inside. Poisonous snakes and deadly lightning bolts will block your progress here. Once inside the temple, you have a limited air supply so you need to explore quickly. Hidden in various rooms of the temple are numerous keys which are needed to unlock the vault.

The keys and some other useful items are hidden in secret rooms which you need to locate by using your trusty pick axe or the flasks of acid you carry. To help figure out which rooms may contain hidden objects, you carry a geiger counter with you; the higher the reading, the closer you are to something of interest! The rooms you'll be exploring are guarded by snakes, spiders, and even mummies! To deal with these enemies you carry a gun, and you can also use the acid flasks against them (ammo is limited, so use it wisely). If you are successful in your mission, you may receive a secret code which can be used to begin the game at later levels. Good luck!

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/quest-for-quintana-roo
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River Raid
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Vertically Scrolling
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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You fly a jet up river in an attempt to destroy bridges which are vital to the enemy. The river is heavily guarded, however, with tanks, choppers, and enemy aircraft trying to stop you. Along the way you will need to fly over fuel depots to refuel your jet and keep flying.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/river-raid
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Robin Hood
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Xonox
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
You, "ROBIN HOOD." are in medieval England trying to right the injustices of the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. The Sheriff has overtaxed the poor peasants and hoarded their gold in his castle. He is also keeping the lovely MAID MARIAN against her will in his castle. Your goal is to save MAID MARIAN and steal the GOLD so you can return it to the peasants. You must cross the dangerous Sherwood Forest where the Sheriff's henchmen lie in ambush. Then on to the castle gate where again you must fight your way into the castle. You will fight with bows and arrows. your sword. and use your cunning and speed if you make it into the castle.

--From the Colecovision Robin Hood instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/robin_hood.html
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3caca004
Roc 'N Rope
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Your player is a mountain climber who must avoid cavemen, dinosaurs and pterodactyls as he climbs up the cliff-sides. Your goal in each level is to climb up and reach a mystical bird with great plumage, while staying one step above the bonus timer which determines how long you may stay on each level. The mountain climber has only one ability; to shoot rope at 45 degree angles which he may then climb up to other platforms. His other action is a stun beam which will allow him to walk past enemies who get too close; but will only work horizontally from him. As for power-ups, on each level is (usually 2) a flashing diamond power-up which will make him invincible and allow him to defeat monsters. Also as a power-up are glowing treasures of some kind which are worth extra points.

Your player also cannot take a fall, except for extremely small ones unless he is able to climb down vines. This means that when you shoot your rope and are climbing it, you are vulnerable. Even more so because enemies are allowed to "shake" the rope until you fall off if they reach the base of the rope. Pterodactyls fly overhead and drop eggs on the player.

There are 4 distinct levels; the cliff-side, the windmill, the waterfall and the peak. Completing all of these levels will restart the game with faster enemies and power-ups located in different places.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/roc-n-rope
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Rock 'N' Bolt
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Is the Golden Bird of Fortune merely a legend, or does it really exist? Find out in Coleco's ROC 'N ROPE, a game of skill and speed.

In your quest for the Golden Bird, you'll journey through the land that time forgot--a prehistoric landscape made up of treacherous cliffs and dark caves. Scale the heights with your trusty rope and shine your powerful flashlight to daze the lumbering dinosaurs and swift-footed cavemen who chase you at every turn. And up at the top, a feathered fiend, the Flying Roc, tries to bop you with bouncing boulders.

Fortunately, the Golden Bird has left a trail of eggs containing magical powers. Gather them as you go and use their powers to make the dinosaurs and cavemen disappear into the depths below. But watch your step! If you lose your footing while perched on the edge of a cliff, you'll join your fallen foes!

The treasures of the Golden Bird are yours when you reach the apex. But your quest isn't over. The fabled bird awaits you at the top of yet another perilous maze.

--From the Colecovision Roc 'n Rope instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/roc_n_rope.html
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Rocky Super-Action Boxing
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Boxing
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
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Whether you're the Italian Stallion or Clubber Lang, you're in the ring with the toughest opponent of your career! Put up your gloves, look for an opening, then land a punch. Bob and weave. Duck. Jab to the body. Quick maneuvering confuses your opponent. Direct hits earn you points as you wear your opponent down. Keep punching away until he falls to the canvas! Then get into your corner and watch the referee count him out. You're the new world champion!

--From the Colecovision Rocky Super Action Boxing instruction manual.

http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/rocky_super_action_boxing.html
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Rolloverture
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Sunrise
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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There is an interesting box variation for this game. The more common box is the standard yellow Sunrise style. There is also a silver and black version of the box with completely different fonts and layout.
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Sammy Lightfoot
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Sierra
Publisher: Sierra
Players: 1
_________________________
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Go through three levels jumping over obstacles that get in your way. Use trampolines and swings to get to hard-to-reach places and avoid hazards or falling down gaps. Get to the top of the screen in order to proceed to the next level. Once three levels are completed, the game restarts with increased difficulty. Before you start the game, you can access the options screen which lets you customize the screen to include another player, turn off the sound or the scene music, or let either player start at any particular level.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/sammy-lightfoot
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Sector Alpha
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spectravision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Sector Alpha is an Action game, published by Spectravision, which was released in 1983.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/coleco/home/585554.html
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Sewer Sam
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Interphase Technologies Inc.
Publisher: Interphase Technologies Inc.
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
It's a lovely day and Sam is waiting in Central Park to meet his girlfriend Sally. He sees her and walks to her. He only has eyes for her and before he realizes it he finds himself in the New York sewer system.

Three Russian submarines have been located in the New York sewer system and they have blocked off the system. Sam's only way out of the sewer system is to destroy the Russian submarines. Luckily, Sam carries his revolver. Sam can't go back... once he's gone through the City Sewer Department seals the tunnel. Luckily, Sam carries his revolver.

The sewer system has three types of sewer tunnels. Tunnels with solid dry floors, tunnels with a water passage in the middle and tunnels with pits. Sam can walk, run and creep through the tunnels but Sam can't move as quickly in water. Sam can move from tunnel to tunnel by entering one of the passages that appear occasionally on his way. Each time he enters a new sewer, Sam receives a fresh supply of oxygen.

On it's way through the sewer system Sam is under attack by nasties like rats, bats, spiders and more. The ultimate nasties are the Russian submarines. They are located only in water canals. The status bar at the top of the screen contains a distance indicator. It tells you how far Sam has traveled into the sewer. If it's red, it means there's a dreaded submarine at the end of the sewer. The more nasty elements you shoot, the higher you'll score.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/sewer-sam
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dd76775d
Sir Lancelot
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Xonox
Publisher: Xonox
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
A damsel in distress is being held in a castle by a fire breathing dragon! As Sir Lancelot, you need to ride your winged horse Pegasus to the rescue. Each level in this action game consists of two screens. First you are outside the castle which is guarded by numerous flying creatures. You need to fly around the screen and destroy all of the creatures by hitting them with your lance (careful, if they hit you instead you'll lose a life).

After all of the creatures are gone, you enter the second screen which is inside the castle. Here there is a large pit of lava and a flying dragon. To destroy the dragon you need to hit it's stomach with your lance. If you are hit by one of the dragon's fireballs you'll be temporarily stunned and unable to fly. If you end up falling into the lava, you'll lose a life. If you can defeat the dragon, the game repeats at a higher difficulty level. The game ends when you lose all of your lives.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/sir-lancelot
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b37d48bd,c5c80fb4
Skiing
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Skiing
Release Date: 1986
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 to 4 Alternating
_________________________
*
This unusual skiing game actually gives you the skier's perspective - seeing the course right through his goggles! The skier must race down the snow covered slopes, negotiating the sharp curves with precision and avoiding the treacherous moguls, trees, and other obstacles. His goal is to traverse the course and reach the finish in record time! Go for it!"
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5cdb00d3,53d2651c
Slither
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Roller Controller
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Multi-Directional
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Slither is similar in nature to the hit arcade game Centipede by Atari. You control your snake as it slither's around the screen. Where this game differs greatly from Centipede is that you can shoot in 4 different directions at the same time to take out the baddies trying to hunt you down. The bad snakes hunting you down will appear from various angles on the screen, often several at a time. The game was bundled with Coleco's Roller Controller and can't be played without it. 

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/slither
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27f5c0ad
Slurpy
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Use fire button to flip slurpy & spit poison (red) objects.
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97c0382d,176eb9c3
Smurf Paint 'n Play Workshop
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Choose any one of four background scenes and start to add clip-art objects, furniture and free form design. The four scenes are:

-Outside a mushroom house
-Inside a mushroom house
-The River crossing
-Gargamel's Castle

Create any number of decorated scenarios and then use either controller to change into one of four characters: Smurf, Papa Smurf, Smurfette or Gargamel and play around in the graphic you have created. Characters are able to move left, right, up, down... jump and drop.

There is no method of saving your work, so it all disappears when the power goes off.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/smurf-paint-n-play-workshop
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42850379
Smurf Rescue
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
This arcade-style game can be a lot of fun. The colors and graphics look great compared to the Atari version. The controls are easy to learn and responsive. The only complaint in that department from me, is the fact that the jump button is Up instead of the fire button. This makes it hard to jump while walking forward. The sounds were pretty annoying, I recommend turning them off. The gameplay is fun because it just loops over and over, you just have to try and get as many points as you can.

Directions:

Choose how many players and what skill level you want. Two player mode just consists of you and a friend taking turns to see who can get the higher point score.

Walk from right to left while jumping over fences, hills, and stalagmites. You will also have to duck birds, bats, and spiders from time to time. Increasing the skill level will result in a higher frequency of enemies and obstacles. There only two things you can do besides walk, jump or duck. You can jump twice in a row to jump higher. After you make it all the way to the right, you will see Smurfette. Jumping up to her will constitute rescuing her. After that, you will start back at the beginning. Apparently she just can't stop getting kidnapped.

Controls:

Left and Right: Walk
Up: Jump
Down: Duck

Hints:

- Jump Jump Jump -
Sometimes you will have to jump twice in a row to make it up a high cliff.

Reviewer: adrian
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/smurf_rescue_gargamels_castle.html
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df8de30f
Space Fury
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Multi-Directional
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Space Fury is another of the many spaceship/shooter games. This particular one plays much like Asteroids. Like many games for the Colecovision, it was originally an arcade game and so has the look and feel of such games. It's not as colorful and fun to look at as Galaxian, but it is much more challenging.

To begin with, one of the ugliest aliens I've ever met talks some smack to ya. If you die you'll have to put up with his blabbering some more, and he'll rate you as an opponent. I recommend not dying. They simulated the alien's speech with these really strange noises, but only for the defeat speech. The speech at the beginning is covered by the only music you'll hear. There isn't really any background music, only a little trill of notes that sound pretty cool each time you begin a stage. The other sound effects amount to your spaceship firing in these small, rather pitiful sounding blips, and traditional explosion noises.

Directions:

The controls to this game can be a bit difficult to get the hang of and require a bit of practice before you can maneuver smoothly. You have a thrust button which will push you around on the screen in spurts.

Just tap it and you will move just a bit. Hold it a bit longer and you'll drift after you stop pressing the button. It's best to just tap the button as you will fly willy-nilly around the screen if you hold it down.

The game play area wraps around, so that anything that leaves the screen on one edge will come back on the opposite edge. This applies to you, your enemies, and your weapon fire (but not the enemy's fire). Enemies begin as just segments, but watch out! As these pieces pull together they become ships that will shoot at you! You can take them out before they're complete so they never get the chance, but incomplete ships will chase you around the screen and it may be preferable to let them become complete so you don't get chased.

At the end of the first three levels you will have the option of upgrading your weapons. The dark blue one fires three shots at once out of the front of the ship, the green one fires a shot out of each side of the ship (except the back) in addition to the one fired in front, and the white one fires one in front and two from behind you. It's personal preference which one you want to end up with, but whichever it is make sure you pick the other two first so that that option will be the one that you are left with the third time you upgrade. You don't strictly have to pick any of them up but they are worth points, so I recommend grabbing them before the time runs out at the top of the screen.

Important Note- When you restart the game after dying you will start with whatever skill set you chose to begin with. So, if you want to change the skill level you need to reset the game.

Controls:

A Button: Thrust
B Button: Fire
Minus Key: Restarts Game

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/space_fury.html
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5bdf2997
Space Panic
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Universal
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
A game remarkably similar to Lode Runner, you play an astronaut with limited oxygen (time) chased around by various space aliens. Your only method of dealing with these multicolored threats from space is to dig a hole, lure it into a hole and then manually fill up the hole with the alien in it. Dropping aliens on top of other aliens earns you extra points and eliminates both. Levels get progressively harder and enemies grow faster.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/space-panic
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3564e134
Spectron
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Fixed Shooter
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spectravision 
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Finally a space shooter without a 'g' at the beginning of the name. Spectron is a very difficult game that is a lot like the first level in Gorf (another Coleco game). You will have a block of enemies in three lines over you trying to shoot you. The music is only there at the beginning of a stage, but it's very catchy and cool. Like as not, you'll find yourself bobbing your head to it.

The background may be a picture of some futuristic city that you're defending, but it's hard to tell since it's not very detailed. It could be a space station or military base. *Shrug* Not very important what you're defending beyond yourself, because if you don't take these guys out, they'll take you out. The enemies change in appearance and tactics during the fight, that's pretty cool. As in Gorf, in this one you have a shield. Only in Spectron, you can't shoot through your own shield, so it shields the enemy as much as it shields you!

Directions:

First, your ship will slide over until it's in the center where there is a gap in the shield. You really want to shoot down enemy ships before they get a chance to turn purple and green, or as they turn those colors.

Purple and green ships will begin to fly more erratically and drop more bombs on you faster. Change directions quickly to keep from being bombed. If you move only in one direction you will eventually have nowhere to run, and the enemy will corner and bomb you!

Your instincts may be to run when you're being bombed, but the best thing to do is change direction (but watch what you're doing!). The enemy only really drops bombs on you, not on the shield alone, so if you run ahead of him he'll just chase and drop bombs constantly. If you change direction you can slip through his fire and he will continue going in the other direction. This way only a few bombs are dropped at you since they will not change direction when you do and will always go all the way to the edge of the screen in whichever direction they were heading before they turn back.

Your shield is slowly being worn away by enemy fire, but it is replaced every fourth level. You decide whether it gets in your way or not. Personally, I hate the thing. I'm always trying to fire through it.

You have extra lives displayed in the lower right hand corner. They look like other little ships that are preparing to take off.

Controls:

A Button: Fire
B Button: Fire
Minus Key: Restarts Game

Hints:

- Just Don't Let Them Hit You -
Keep your eyes on your ship as you play in the beginning. Just keep firing randomly and mainly avoiding the bombs dropped on you. When you look at what you are firing at, it is very difficult to avoid the enemy's fire. So, take out most of them before you start looking where you're shooting. Then, without as many bombs being dropped on you now, you may fire at the enemy more leisurely.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/spectron.html
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36478923
Spy Hunter
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Roller Controller
Genre: Vehicular Combat
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Midway
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
A conversion of the arcade game, Spy Hunter is a driving action game played from an overhead point of view. Your car is equipped with machine guns to help you get past the numerous enemies out on the road (be careful not to shoot any civilians, though!) Occasionally you will come across a weapons van, and if you drive into the back of the van your car becomes equipped with a second weapon (such as smoke screen, oil slick, or missiles.)

At several points the road splits and you can enter a boathouse which transforms your car into a boat temporarily. If you drive far enough the seasons change as well (watch out for icy conditions during winter!) The enemy cars will do anything to stop you, including running you off the road, firing guns from the back of a limmo, or dropping bombs from a helicopter.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/spy-hunter
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6c82e0cc
Squish 'Em Sam!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action > General
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Interphase
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Opening up the ROM code you'll find the following message: "This space is dedicated to all those humble code hackers who try frantically to cram a program into 8kbytes and then are given 16k and to all accountants who want 15k proms".
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aff42aa9
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Multi-Directional
Release Date: 1984
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator is an arcade action game where you take control of the Starship Enterprise. Your mission is to save the Federation from NOMAD! Before you get a chance at destroying NOMAD, you'll have to battle your way through ten levels (each consisting of multiple rounds). In each round you may encounter Klingon fighters, deadly anti-matter saucers, asteroid fields, and deadly meteors, all of which are capable of depleting the Enterprises energy.

The game ends when your energy supply has completely run out. To fight these dangers, the Enterprise is equipped with an unlimited supply of phasers and a limited supply of photon torpedoes. Each round also contains one or more starbases; if you dock at a starbase, some of your supplies (such as energy and torpedoes) will be replenished. The game is played from two points of view; the top of the screen contains a third person view of the Enterprise (along with the ships gauges), and on the bottom of the screen is a first person point of view

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/star-trek-strategic-operations-simulator
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0e75b3bf
Star Wars: The Arcade Game
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Flight Simulator
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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*
This game is Star Wars... and really I could end this review right there. Already I have convinced thousands to play it. The title alone would send chills down most nerds' spines. Really, this is one of the best Colecovision games ever, practically a perfect port of an already insanely popular and wildly addictive Arcade title. It was one of the first games in the Golden Age of Gaming to use vector graphics, and with Star Wars, really there was no other way to go.

This game took what is great about the dog fights in the movie and managed to squeeze it into the home with some ingenuity. No other game had attempted and succeeded at this feat. Getting to take the roll of the great Luke Skywalker is enough to make this game enjoyable for Star Wars fans. Shooting down TIE Fighters, Darth Vader, Turrets and the almighty Death Star is even more reason! The game play is tight for its generation, and surprisingly the mechanics of this game work very well. I found it amazing that a game in the first person perspective from the mid-80's worked so well and so smoothly. Your aiming will actually be precise and your X-Wing easy to control, you'll be very pleased. Going through each part of the game adds a whole new challenge and feels like a whole other game for its time. This game is a must play to see inspiration for future titles, and in some cases paved the way for new technologies in graphics and showed developers they can go out on a limb and actually produce a great game.

The graphics in this game use vector graphics, a relatively new technology in gaming at the time. They add to the futuristic feel of Star Wars and kind of make you feel you are looking through a digitized visor throughout the game! You'll also see some hidden messages throughout the Waves that are in vector graphics. Those are some neat easter eggs. Thankfully, unlike some other games using the same graphics of the time, you will actually be able to determine where you are facing, who's shooting, and where enemies and boundaries are. All the graphics are very pleasing, keeping the game in its Star Wars action state. They are just barely toned down from its Arcade counterpart.

Sound-wise this game is again pretty darn good for its era. Though they did rip some of the digitized voices from the game that were in the actual arcade version, the bullets and ship noises are still existent and will keep you in the game still feeling like you are actually piloting the X-Wing. No noises sound too unclear or ridiculous, no high whines, fuzzy scratchy noises, it just sounds like a cheaper sound effect. This is simply where the game differs from the Arcade, Graphics and Sound, but game-play stays the same!

This game has very little flaws. After a while it may become tiresome or redundant to a few, which may be its one flaw. Sometimes it will take a bit to get used to flying on the harder waves, and keep in mind, since you're piloting, the Y-axis is reversed. Meaning Up = Down and Down = Up! As a whole this game is, as I said at the beginning, one of the best Colecovision games and arguably the best movie tie-in game ever. Definitely play this game to experience what you may have missed and to see where the games of today gained so much inspiration and expectations from.

Star Wars The Arcade Game shoots down 9 TIE Fighters out of 10!

Directions:

Take the role of Luke Skywalker as you pilot the X-Wing, using the force to eliminate the Dark Side and their seemingly impenetrable force, the Death Star! Wave by wave, survive as long as you can while flying toward the Death Star at ever increasing speeds, with more and more TIE Fighters on your tail and defending the Death Star.

Survive long enough by shooting down TIE Fighters in the empty space and shooting their beams, saving you from destruction.

Make it through a wave and fly your way through the heavily guarded Death Star's surface. Blast enemy turrets and dodge incoming missiles and beams to make it to the last phase.

Now you will be flying at fast speed through the trenches of the Death Star, avoiding many obstacles, beams, and blasting enemy turrets until it becomes time to fire the proton torpedo at the exact moment into the exhaust port target. Saving the universe has never been this beautiful.

But it isn't over yet, now you must repeat, this time at an increasing difficulty.

Controls:

A and B Buttons: Fire
Start Button: Start

Hints:

- Bottom Right/Top Left -
While in the Trenches, it sometimes works to fly to either the Top Left corner or Bottom Right corner to avoid all enemy attacks and obstacles. This bug can come in handy when in a pinch to the end!

Reviewer: Aggort
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/star_wars_arcade_game.html
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153ac4ef
Steamroller
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Cheshire Engineering
Publisher: Retrotopia
Players: 2
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*
Repair the potholes in the road. If a beach ball gets in the way, pop it! But beware of beach bombs!

You are driving around a continuously deteriorating road, where potholes are forming. You must drive over these potholes to repair them. Along the way, you can drive over beach balls to pop them for points. Don't let a pothole go too long because if it does, it will become a manhole. If a beach ball falls into a manhole, it will emerge as a beach bomb, that can damage you. In a two player game, knock your opponent into the bombs.

In a one player game, avoid the other steamroller as it will kill you except for the last few seconds of the round. In that short time, hitting it will kill it.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/steamroller
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d247a1c8
Strike It!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: WallBreak
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Telegames
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Clone of Arkanoid
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2ecc2c3b,509267f8
Subroc
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Subroc is a pretty neat first-person side-scrolling shooter where, of course, you're shooting at aliens. Your ship can either dive into the water or fly in the sky, and there will be enemies everywhere! When you're in the sky you'll fire missiles and when you're in the water you'll fire torpedoes, but don't worry, the game knows which to fire and you won't even have to switch buttons.

With the terrain being water and sky, you don't get a whole lot of different colors, and the ships don't come in as many cool colors as, say, Galaxian (another Coleco game), but it's worth playing this game at least once just to be blown up. Like I said, it's first person and the bombs come right for your face! Then, the whole screen goes red and flashes yellow. It's really surprising when you've been in the heat of battle and were sure you were going to catch that bomb or missile before it got too close.

There's not really any music to speak of, only constant beeping which tells you there are enemies out there. Sometimes you can scroll to a point where there aren't enemies and get a moment's blessed silence, but they'll find you no matter where you go.

Directions:

You really have to bob and weave on this game! The object is to shoot down the ships that are coming at you. They are in the water as well as the sky, but you don't really have to bother with the guys in the water in order to progress.

In fact, going into the water really just exposes you unnecessarily to torpedoes. The ships in the air will be firing missiles and bombs at you, which you can either shoot down or avoid. The game makes a beeping sound (different from the constant beeping already there) when one of these is heading towards you, but it's not always reliable so keep your eyes peeled. You'll find that quite often the missiles and bombs come in very fast and it's difficult to get a direct hit. Just be aware that these can get too close very quickly, and keep in mind that sometimes it's better to just avoid them. One comforting fact is that the ships won't kamikaze (crash into you and kill you both).

There are six enemies in this game. The blue U.F.O.s are fast and hard to hit. They are also mainly what you'll be facing. Next comes three green ships that fly in formation. These fire missiles at you, but aren't hard to hit. After you defeat the green ships, pink ships will begin dropping in. These guys drop in from the top of the screen and head straight for you firing missiles all the while, eventually (if you don't shoot them down) vanishing overhead. After these guys you get more blue U.F.O.s.

Now, the boss. It's a big black ship that flies erratically around on the screen shooting missiles at you. This black ship has the added irritation of a shield. The shield is composed of green bars that float around near it and sometimes cover it. To destroy this ship, you're going to have to get a missile past the shield. One shot will destroy it! This whole time there will also be grey submarines and yellow ships in the water. Feel free to drop down and take out a few for extra points, but note that this will draw torpedo fire! The firing system is a bit different underwater, as you don't have to line the enemy up in the cross hairs but only drop a torpedo in line with them.

You may also notice a green and/or a black ship sailing along the horizon. Torpedo the black ship and torpedo or shoot missiles at the green one for extra points. Occasionally there will also be a green balloon that appears in the thick of battle. Shoot it for extra points as well.

NOTE: The longer it takes you to destroy the green fighters and black boss ship, the less points you will get for defeating them.

Extra lives- First at 20,000 points; next at 100,000 points; and every 100,000 points after that.

Controls:

A Button: Fire
B Button: Fire
Minus Key: Start/ Restart Game

Hints:

- In the Pink -
Watch out when the pink ships start coming after you. Often they hide bombs and missiles that are flying right on their tail. So, when you see a pink ship right up in your face, keep in mind that a bomb or missile could be there too, and get out of the way!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/subroc.html
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97217677,43f03c6f
Super Action Baseball
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Baseball
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 VS
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*
Colecovision's only baseball game and first of the Super Action series, Super Action baseball was specially designed to work with the Super Action controllers

Batting is done with an angled view wherein you see your batter in the bottom-left of the screen and the pitcher at center-right. The top part of the screen is reserved for keeping an eye on the bases. As the ball approaches, your player attempts to hit the ball with his bat to send it flying. A successful hit will result in your player having to run around the bases. Running is done with the "wheel" on the top of the Super Action Controllers. Stealing is also possible.

Fielding is simple, using the Super Action controllers, players have 4 buttons to correspond to each base. Thus the ball can be thrown at any of the bases instantly.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/super-action-baseball
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62619dc0
Super Action Football
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Football
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
Another game in the Super Action series that makes use of Coleco's Super Action Controllers. Play against the computer or go head-to-head with a friend over 4 quarters of football action. Step back and throw the long bomb to your wide receiver dancing in the end zone, kick the field goal, or lay down a bone-crunching tackle as you control one of 3 offensive or 3 defensive players. What victory dance will you do as you dive across the goal line in the final seconds of the game?

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/super-action-football
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acac69dd
Super Action Soccer
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Soccer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
Primarily distributed overseas, although Telegames USA stocked this title for awhile.
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6cb5cb8f,f84622d2
Super Cobra
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Horizontally Scrolling
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Parker Brothers
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Super Cobra is a side scrolling shooter based on the arcade game. You're a chopper pilot on a surveillance mission in enemy territory; your goal is to make it through the various obstacle courses alive and score as many points as possible. Tall buildings, mountains, narrow tunnels, and various enemies (such as tanks, rockets, mines, and more) can all get in the way and destroy your chopper if you aren't careful.

To help defend yourself, the chopper is armed with a machine gun and bombs which can be used to destroy the enemy tanks and rockets. To make the task more difficult, your chopper has a limited amount of fuel. Throughout the landscapes are fuel tanks; if one of these is shot or bombed, you will be awarded extra fuel. As the levels progress, the enemies become more aggressive, fuel becomes more scarce, and the landscape becomes trickier to navigate.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/super-cobra
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8093b672,6c4ed807
Super Cross Force
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Spectravision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 CO-OP
_________________________
*
Presumably the "super" version of Crossforce, which was produced by Spectravision for the Atari 2600.
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7f0baa89,1edf2e7d
Tank Wars
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Telegames
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Initially created overseas by Bit Corp., then re-packaged and distributed by Telegames. Be careful with a purchase of this game as Adam's House makes very good copies. Note also that this game has been seen with two different labels and catalog numbers.
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8afd7db2
Tapper
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Midway
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Root Beer Tapper is a fun game where you're in charge of serving drinks to thirsty pub patrons. As they advance, you must slide mugs of root beer to them down the length of several bars.

Graphics are fairly decent for the era. Characters (bartender & patrons) and Items (mugs & cans) in this game possess enough detail to be distinguishable. Simple songs that play during the rounds are of a familiar Americana quality, like "Oh Susanna". Other sounds in the game are sliding mugs and breaking glass. Patrons clamour for a round, noisily chug it down, and a bell chimes when a tip has been left for you.

Control response is good, but it's pretty easy to send too many drinks, so be careful. This game possesses a kind of "charm" that makes it enjoyable, as I have played quite a while before I wrote this review.

Directions:

As the game begins, you're in charge of 4 separate bars, on which you must deliver drinks to customers. Each bar has its own door at the end, from where the customers appear. Deliver drinks to advancing patrons.

If they are pushed back out the door, that bar is cleared. If not, customers down their beverage and return the empty mug, motioning for another drink. If you send more mugs than there are customers to catch them, one will break and you lose a life. You also lose a life if you do not catch the empty mugs returned to you, or if the patrons reach your end of the bar. A stage is cleared when you push all of the customers out of door.

There is also a Bonus Round where the "Root Beer Bandit" shakes up all but one can of root beer. Pay attention as the cans are shuffled, and pick the right can for big bonus points. Pick the wrong can and you are showered with root beer.

Controls:

Left Fire: Serve Drink
Right Fire: Serve Drink

Hints:

- Catch Those Empty Mugs -
You can move down the bar and catch the returned mugs before they get to the end of the bar. Also patrons sometimes leave tips for bonus points.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/root_beer_tapper.html
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c8bc1950
Telly Turtle
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Carousel Software
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
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Telly Turtle is basically a port of the LOGO programming language with the main character being a turtle. The keypad buttons of the Colecovision are used to issue commands from a selection presented on-screen and eventually, programs can be formed to move Telly Turtle around the screen in a series of directions. Music and Sound Effects are also added into the mix to broaden the programming experience

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/telly-turtle
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Threshold
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Sierra
Publisher: Sierra
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Threshold is a simple Shoot'em up game. You are in control of a spaceship at the bottom of the screen and have to shoot several formations of enemies on the top of the screen.

To make things more difficult you have limited time in form of a fuel tank which will get refilled after you cleared a number of waves. Besides that your spacecraft is equipped with a laser that tends to overheat. Every shot make the heat bar of the laser increase a bit. Once it reached its maximum you can't fire anymore and are forced to wait until it cooled down while slowly running out of fuel.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/threshold
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Time Pilot
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Multi-Directional
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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This Time Pilot is a Colecovision port of an arcade game. Although it isn't exactly the same as the arcade version (most Colecovision games are some kind of version of an arcade game) it still has the arcade game feel that I love. The graphics are simple and straightforward, but not lacking smoothness or playability. The game is mainly made up of your plane in a sky (that changes color every level) with clouds (that also change color every level) and enemies (did ya guess? they change too).

The noises are simple and just serve the purpose of letting you know what's going on. Explosion animation is just what you'd expect to let you know that, "Hey, I just blew up." Game play is simple. Shoot. Don't get shoot, I mean shot.

And lastly, you're always alone.... so very alone. Can you imagine if these games were part truth? What if every battle hinged on only one guy out there in some plane or space ship defending cities from final annihilation? Scary, huh?

Directions:

Fly your plane around looking for enemy planes and dirigibles (blimps) and shoot them down. You will have a lesser enemy and a greater enemy each level. Lesser enemies will come at you in great numbers. They will shoot at you, but not nearly as often as the greater enemies. You have a set amount of lesser enemies to kill before the greater enemy will come on screen.

There is only one greater enemy. He's sort of a Boss. Greater enemies will look different and be a different color than the other ones you've been shooting at. These guys will take more than one hit to bring them down. After you have shot them once or twice, they will begin to smoke. They will also shoot at you much more than the other guys you were dealing with in the level. Destroying these guys completes the level.

As you progress in levels, enemies will begin to drop little yellow missiles. These will travel forward for a very short time before dropping very fast. You can shoot them and this will gain you points, but they are very difficult to hit since they are so small. Following the yellow missiles will be red ones. Red ones will track you all over the screen and you have to shoot them down to get rid of them. Blue missiles are just like red but smarter and faster. Also, as you progress, levels will begin to have more than one greater enemy in amongst the lesser enemies before you even get your quota.

You will get alarms to let you know when certain things are happening. You will hear a whistling noise like a cartoon character might make to symbolize something falling. This noise means that there is now a parachute on the screen. I have no clue where he came from. Considering it's only you and your enemies on the screen, logic would tell you that it's an enemy. I dunno. Maybe you're just running him over. Can you do that in a plane? Oh, sorry,... pick this guy up for extra points. Another alarm you will hear will let you know when there is going to be a formation coming your way. This alarm just sounds alarmish. Formations will be more than one of the lesser enemies flying in a group towards you. The groups get larger the further you get in the game, and they will become harder to survive what with all of the bullets flying. So, in short, the game gets harder. That's the way it's.

Controls:

A Button: Fires
B Button: Fires
Minus Key: Pauses Game
Backspace Key: Resets Game

Hints:

- Don't Sweat It -
Take your time and run if you have to. If you're afraid to let the boss plane out of your sight after you've dealt it a hit or two, don't worry. Even if it disappears after leaving your visual area, it will still be as damaged as you left it when it returns, and return it will!

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/time_pilot.html
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1e14397e
Tomarc the Barbarian
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Xonox
Publisher: Xonox
Players: 1
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In Tomarc the Barbarian Senta is being held captive in a magical cage, and Tomarc needs to rescue her! In this action game you will control both Tomarc and Senta simultaneously. Tomarc is lost in a series of caves somewhere searching for his magic sword, and then must locate Senta to set her free. Deadly rats and other dangers must be avoided as you run and jump around the caves.

Meanwhile, Senta must defend herself from giant bats and other creatures while trapped in the cage; although she can't move, she is capable of firing magic at enemies to destroy them. You are able to switch screens between the two characters to select which character to control. Listening to the sound effects can help you determine when the other character is in trouble and you should switch screens.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/tomarc-the-barbarian
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c1d5a702,c168fe06
Tournament Tennis
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Tennis
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Imagic
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
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A simple one on one tennis game.
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Turbo
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 1982
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
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It's you and several other cars racing through a variety of landscapes in Turbo. From the starting line onward, you need to maneuver around and pass various cars in your way while racing towards the finish line. Some of the landscapes you'll travel through include city streets, long roads in the country, seaside highways and dark tunnels.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/turbo
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10cc33a3,f80d1770
Tutankham
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Konami
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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This game is very similar to Montezuma's Revenge. Game play is similar as you avoid monsters and run around picking up keys and treasures and unlocking doors. The look of the game is also similar because of the different colored bricks that change color from screen to screen against a black background.

There is only some frenzied music at the start of a level. Other than that there are a few weird sound effects when monsters come out to play, a ridiculous little beeping noise when you walk (why do they always have to make strange noises when they walk?), some static when you shoot, and a couple other blips and bleeps. Nothing too high-tech here, people. This is just another one of those great, straightforward, no frills, games of challenge for the Colecovision.

Directions:

To begin, choose a number 1-6. 1-3 are one player options and 4-6 are two player options. 1= lowest difficulty for one player and 4= lowest difficulty for two players.

When you begin a level, monsters will come out of the purple door closest to you. This door is really just a square with only three sides. At the top of the screen you will see Player 1 (or 2 respectively), a six digit number that is your score, and then TIME:1200 on the top line. Your time will count down throughout the level, and if you do not complete the level within the allotted time limit you will lose a life. The second line begins with a golden lamp symbol with 4 beside it. These lamps are precious, as they allow you to rid the screen of all monsters that are on it by pressing A and B at the same time. Keep in mind that the monsters will come back out as they always do, so this should only be used in emergencies. Next, is a green shield followed by a 1. Contact j.cooper@consoleclassix.com if you know or figure out what this shield does, 'cause I can't find it anywhere and pressing all the buttons yielded me no results. Maybe it's a simple level marker? After that is a red head wearing a hat.

The number next to this tells you how many lives you have left after you lose the one that you're on. On the easiest setting you start with eight, and on each harder setting you start with less and less.

As you begin to move you will notice that the little guy will continue to move until you either change directions or run into a wall. Also, you should know that you can only shoot left or right, and not up or down. A fires left and B fires right.

Other features include warp portals, keys, treasures, and doors. Warp portals are recognizable by the white cross on either side of it. When you step between these crosses the portal will carry you over to the next set of crosses. You can only pick up one key at a time so if you need more than one you will have to go back for it. Use the keys to unlock the doors and move through the different tombs.

Controls:

A Button: Fires Left
B Button: Fires Right
A and B Buttons Together: Uses a Lamp

Hints:

- Don't Let it Get to Ya -
Don't let the time limit scare you too much. Really, you have plenty of time to collect all of the treasures and take the safest route. Don't go rushing headlong into a monster because you were in a hurry. Take your time, aim your shots and time your moves, and you'll come out better than if you just tried to bully your way through.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/tutankham.html
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Up 'N Down
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 1984
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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*
Up 'n Down is a simple but challenging racing game that was originally an arcade game before being made available for the Colecovision, just as many Colecovision games were. This game looks just like you would expect a Colecovision game to look: simple, basic but bright colors, and basically like an arcade game. The game scrolls up and down as you move along the track.

The music is up beat and surprisingly not bothersome. I really like the animation for this game even though it is very simple. Really, it's the fact that you can make the cute little car jump. I find it quite amusing. On top of that, animation is pretty smooth and flowing just as you would hope a racing game would be. I'm not usually a fan of racing games, but this is more a game of timing, as jumping is the primary skill you'll need. It might have made more sense if they had made this game with horses instead of cars. Of course, then they would have had to change the explosion that occurs when you run into another racer. Exploding horses wouldn't be very pleasant.

Directions:

Choose a number, 1 being easiest and 3 hardest for one player, and 4 being easiest and 6 as the hardest for two players, to begin the game.

Game play is very simple. Drive around picking up flags and bonus items that are worth points, while you dodge and/or flatten other cars. Just before you start each course (and when you are restarting the course after crashing) the game will give you a screen that tells you how many flags you have left to get and what colors they are. Flags will turn white as you pick them up. Use the joystick to maneuver the car by pressing forward to go faster, back to slow down and reverse, and left or right to choose a different path than you are currently on when available. While you cannot simply drive off of the track, you can land off the track after a jump. This will be a crash. You only get five crashes before it's Game Over. Holding forward while you jump will make you jump further. If you land on another car you will crush that car and gain points. You can only jump while moving forwards, not backwards.

Green stripes that run horizontally across the track indicate a hill. Hills are easier to move down than up. Be careful when jumping on a hill as you will fly further faster. Light green dotted areas will slow you down if you drive over them. You can jump these (but watch out that they aren't positioned so that you leap right off the track). Sometimes a road will dead end suddenly, so keep an eye on what's coming up ahead and choose your path carefully. As you advance in rounds, you will find that flags will fill back in if you touch them a second time, meaning that you will have to get that flag yet again! Jump over these flags to keep from doing that. This makes the courses much more challenging.

After you get all of the flags, the game will tell you your time and give you a bonus based on it.

The further you get in the game the harder it gets as other cars become more frequent and faster, and new obstacles appear!

Controls:

A Button: Jumps
B Button: Jumps
0 (Zero) Key: Pause Game

Hints:

- Jump Track -
Find yourself on the wrong side of the track yet again? Don't despair! You can leap the gap! Just don't go too far or you'll land off course. This tricks really isn't as hard to pull off as you might think. Just aim your car in the right direction and jump for it. It'll take a bit of practice to be able to get the jump length right, but this is definitely a trick worth knowing!

Reviewer:

fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/up_n_down.html
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Venture
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1982
Developer: Exidy
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Venture on the Colecovision is an early foray into the fantasy, fighting and quest-for-riches game format. You control a simple, smiley-faced character armed with a bow and arrows, fighting numerous different creatures and undead monsters, each of which guards various treasures.

Venture is a score based adventure game with primitive graphics and sound effects. All of your enemies are single colored sprites, such as skeletons, bats, genies and dragons. The game begins with a short video song intro, and when in combat, an adventurer's theme plays to inspire a sense of urgency. A few bars of "The William Tell Overture" plays when you acquire the treasure, which includes diamonds, chests and chalices.

Controller response is good, and overall gameplay is pretty much just O.K. Venture is not really a bad game and is definitely not great, as its ultra-primitive predecessor, Adventure on Atari 2600 was. Venture is a decent early attempt at what has evolved into the adventure genre of gaming.

Directions:

Each level begins in large room/maze containing four separate rooms with visible doorways. In the large room, your character is represented by a tiny red dot. You are pursued by several floating skulls which you cannot attack or kill, but they can kill you if they touch you.

Avoid the skulls and enter any of the rooms, in any order, via the doorways.

Each room is denoted as a certain creature's, such as goblin's room, dragon's room, etc. Usually grouped in threes, sometimes in groups of four, the creatures guard a certain treasure. They do not "pursue" as much as they "home in" on your character, randomly moving and gradually getting closer. Slay the beasts by firing arrows at them, and go for the treasure. If any monster touches you, you lose a life. Furthermore, the corpse of a slain beast will remain several seconds after it has been killed. If you touch the corpse, you lose a life as well.

You do not have to kill your adversaries to get the treasure, but it will make doing so easier. If you spend too much time in any room, a demon appears and advances on you. You cannot kill the demon, and your only hope will be to reach a doorway before he catches you. Should the demon reach you before you get to the door, you lose a life. If you have to re-enter a room, any enemies you have slain will be back, but after you retrieve the treasure and escape the room safely, that room will be sealed. On the other hand, if you are killed while leaving the room after picking up the treasure, you will have to go back in and get it again.

When the treasure has been retrieved from all four rooms, a bonus is awarded and you advance to next level. The rooms' design changes with each level, as do the occupants. The levels loop after a while, gradually increasing the speed of your opponents.

Controls:

Left Fire: Fire Arrow
Right Fire: Fire Arrow

Hints:

- Use Diagonal Fire -
By using directional Up/Down and Left/Right you can fire arrows at an angle at your opponents.

Reviewer: brumburger
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/venture.html
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Victory
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Roller Controller
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Exidy
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Use your Coleco Roller Controller to rotate your ship as the space around you scrolls by, smack your fire button to take out anything that moves and snag a power-up or two along the way to aid in your quest. Similar in style to Asteroids, but with a moving background.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/victory
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WarGames
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Movie Adaptation
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1
_________________________
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Greetings, Professor Falken. Shall we play a game?

This strategic game is based on the popular 1983 movie of the same name, starring Matthew Broderick. It might remind people of Missile Command but the action is slower and spread over six screens which represent different areas of the U.S.A. Enemy missiles, planes, and subs will attack and you must direct your own forces, which include missiles, planes, subs, and satellites, to intercept them. Each type of defense has strengths and weaknesses (missiles are fast but limited in range, planes are slower but have unlimited range). Satellites are a better all-around defense but are only available every so often. Some weapons aren't available in certain areas, and some enemies are resistant to certain weapons, so you must alter your strategy accordingly.

As your bases and cities are struck, a DefCon indicator for each area will count down and when the overall DefCon reaches 1 for a minute or when all cities and bases are destroyed, a counterstrike is launched and the game is over. The game is won by preventing a counterstrike long enough for a cease-fire to be reached. There's eight different difficulty levels to progress through as you get the hang of it. A two-player mode on the Colecovision lets one player to use the Roller Controller to guide and fire weapons, while the second player inputs keypad commands.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/wargames-
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308a949b,077a8dfa
War Room
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Strategy
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Probe 2000
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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During gameplay, visit cities, in order, with the initials R-O-S-H-A (ROSHA is Bob Harris' nickname). You'll then see a screen with the following message: "Rosha, RObert S. HArris, born August 28th 1957, in Boalsburg Pennsylvania, BS Math CMU 1979, 'we should NUKE the lawyers', buy 'Killer Bees', press any key, 'hi dad'". Following this, some additional play features are enabled, an extra city (RoSHA Isle) appears in the ocean (bottom-right corner of the map) while provides unlimited fuel, and all the city names change to joke names!
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04eeef44
Wing War
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action > Fantasy
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Imagic
Publisher: Imagic
Players: 1
_________________________
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Wing War is an action game where you control a dragon. Beginning in your underground cave, your goal is to capture a sparkling diamond. To do this, you will first need to unlock the secret passage by bringing a fire, water and air crystal back to your cave. Crystals can be found by exploring the various locations available, usually you will need to destroy one of the many enemies so they turn into a crystal. Fire and water crystals can not be in the cave alone at the same time, an air crystal must be placed between them; so you will need to bring back the crystals in the order fire, air, water or water, air, fire. Once you've done this a super crystal is formed unlocking the secret passage so you can try to get the diamond! Your dragon has a limited amount of energy; being hit by enemies will cause the energy to deplete, and the game ends when all of your dragons have lost all their energy.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/wing-war
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Wizard of Id's Wizmath
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Sidney
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Part of the expected series of Wizard of Id titles.
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9f49bed8 
Word Feud
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Edutainment
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Xonox
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
A strange game with strange words.
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Zaxxon
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Isometric Scroller
Release Date: 1982
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Zaxxon is a space ship shooter with a downward angled view that scrolls. Originally an arcade game, the Colecovision version holds on to that arcade style and feel. This is why I love Colecovision games. Animation is smooth. The colors are bright but few. The main sound you'll hear throughout the game is the sound of your ship's engines.

This game is simple and clean, but the controls can be difficult to master. The angle of the screen can make it difficult to get the ship to move in the direction you want it to. Play and you'll get used to it eventually.

Directions:

**Important Note** This game has airplane controls. This means that pressing down on the joystick will cause the ship to rise and pressing up will cause it to descend.

Fuel tanks are the green barrels. Shoot these to increase your fuel supply. Radar towers are roughly orange triangles. Shoot these for points. The zero shapes on the ground will shoot missiles at you. Be ready to avoid these or shoot them down. Most things you can choose to go over and avoid instead of engaging in combat or bothering to shoot them, but you need the fuel. At the bottom right corner of the screen is your fuel gauge, and it is possible to run out before you have finished the mission!

Soon you will have enemy pilots to deal with as well. The way to handle these guys is simple. Shoot them. Don't get shot. Simple, but not always easy. Make it past all of your enemies, don't run into any barriers, and don't run out of fuel, and eventually you will meet a boss. Shoot them down. Here's the rule. Shoot everything. That's all you need to remember. Nothing is your friend.

Sometimes a barrier will spring up before you across a gap. Squeezing past these flashing nuisances can be very difficult. Keep an eye out for them.

In the end, you will find yourself gritting your teeth as you squeeze through narrow openings and just barely skate through sections of heavy fire. This is called fun. Well, at least I think so. You may as well.

*WARNING* Pressing the backspace key will take you back to the start screen, resetting the game and losing all of your progress!

Controls:

A Button: Fires
B Button: Fires
Minus Key: Starts Game
Backspace Key: Resets Game

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/zaxxon.html
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Zenji
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Activision
Publisher: Activision
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
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Zenji is an action/strategy game where you control a rolling face throughout a maze. Each section of the maze can be rotated by the face. The goal is to turn the entire maze green by connecting each section of the maze to the source at the center of the screen. After all sections of the maze have been connected, you can move on to the next, more challenging level. In addition to having a time limit to complete your task, you need to avoid the flames and sparks which wander about the maze. From time to time a number will appear in a maze section and count down from 9 to 0. If you touch the number before it disappears, bonus points are earned. As the levels progress, the mazes become larger, trickier and more flames will appear.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/zenji
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Burgertime (Unreleased Mattel Version)
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: Unreleased
Developer: Mattel
Publisher: Unpublished
Players: 
_________________________
*
It looks like Coleco completely redid the graphics in this game. The only graphics they didn't change were the Spare Men and Spare Peppers. Also The levels themselves are actually exactly the same. Just positioned on the screen differently and the ladders are a different color.

The Mattel version graphics don't look quite as good. They are less detailed and have a more squarish look. You can really notice this when comparing parts of the hamburger. Coleco also made all the characters a little bigger. Notice the differences in the chef. In the Coleco version you can see his eyes and the H on his hat, the Mattel version has neither of these. One of the biggest differences in detail is the hamburger representing which level you are on (to the left of the spare peppers). The Coleco version looks just a like a burger, The Mattel version doesn't look like much of anything.

Other differences:

Mattel's version actually has a nicer looking title screen since it's a break from the unimaginative Colecovision title screens.

Coleco's version has the typical eight-choice skill level selection screen. Mattel's version has only two choices; 1 or 2 players, which is on the first screen.

Coleco's version says "GET READY, CHEF 1" while Mattel's version simply states "GET READY".

Except for the above, the games appear to be identical. 

http://home.comcast.net/~mycoleco/romc02.htm
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beacbff5,f9d56307
Cabbage Patch Kids: Adventures in the Park
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
It's exercise time! Anna Lee, one of the Cabbage Patch Kids, is warming up for a day of athletic adventures in the park--and she's taking you along! So stretch your muscles and get ready for a workout. This adventure is no picnic!

As you stroll through the park, you'll encounter obstacles they never told you about in the Cabbage Patch. You'll leap onto floating lily pads, jump over cabbages and bouncing balls, and hop over puddles so deep they could float a ship. And that's the easy part! By the time you get back to the Park entrance, you'll know just what kind of physical shape you're really in. Are you ready for the workout?

--From the Colecovision Cabbage Patch Kids Adventures in the Park instruction manual.

Overview:

Great game for the parent whose child loves video games and computer games and has exhausted the online Barbie sites already. It is a fairly challenging game, parents should play it a bit first to get a feel for whether or not this game will be enjoyable or too frustratingly difficult for their child. I must admit, I am 24 years old and yet this game frustrated me at times. It can get quite difficult. Still, I'm sure there are children out there who would whiz through this game like it was nothing. If you are the parent of one of these little geniuses, you know it.

The music is repetitive and a bit jarring to adult senses, but it is bright and fun and children have a great capacity for loving this kind of music. The look of the game is just what one would expect from a Colecovision game. It's very pixelated, simple, with a black background and bright colors laid over it. The look certainly won't impress any kid who, like many of today's children, had been drenched in amazing digital art from game systems like the Playstation or XBOX, but I'm sure there are still some kids out there who would get a kick out of this simple little game.

Directions:

Press 1 at the start of the game to play a one player game and 5 to play a two player game. Two players will alternate each time Anna Lee, the cabbage patch kid you're playing, falls down.

The controls are very simple. Run and jump! She only has two speeds. Stop and run, run, run. Careful tapping of the joystick will be required to get her into position for some things. This may be an area where you will have to help your kid out. Speed isn't everything, and if they go running pell-mell onto every screen they'll frequently run into things before they can see them.

That having been said, time is of the essence. This is a race against the clock, an obstacle course that you are trying to get done as fast as possible. At the top of the screen you will see the word TIME with a bar beside it. You have a limited amount of time to complete each stage. As time passes, the blue bar will recede. If you run out of time you will be forced to leave the park and you will lose one of the kids displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen. The game is over when your cabbage patch kid falls down and you have no kids left.

You will encounter many obstacles in your path through the park. The first obstacle is a doozy. One pond-sized puddle (and Anna Lee sinks like a stone in any water you encounter), one lily pad floating back and forth across it, and two vines swinging back and forth over head. You can just jump onto the lily pad if you like and it will carry you across. Time your jumps just right so that you don't land in the water, and then jump off onto land on the other side. You could also just use the vines. Jump up at just the right moment to catch hold of the first one and then time the swings just right for the jump onto the next one, and then onto the ground. Using all of the available methods, I.E. Vine to lily pad to vine to other side, will gain you the most points. Swinging on a vine gets you 200 points. Landing on a lily pad does as well. Some other obstacles will be: 

Bouncing balls- quite obvious what they are, you need to either jump over them or let them bounce over you, depending on how high they bounce, each successfully passed is worth 50 points; 

Trampolines- these are white and blue boxes that will be spaced at regular intervals apart on the screen, don't try jumping over them, you must land on them, pressing the jump button at the right time will give you a super bounce allowing you to reach any apples that are in the trees above you. Apples are worth 200 points each and jumping onto a trampoline is worth 100 points. You must press forward and hit jump at just the right time to jump onto the next one.

Cabbages- look like tiny little bent over palm trees. Jump over these to gain 100 points. Fountains- these look like yellow and chocolate layer cakes that are floating up and down on spouts of water. Jump onto them when they are at the right height and gain 200 points each time.

Campfires- look like what they are. Jump over these for 100 points. Dandelion fluff- those white balls that fall down from over head. Don't let them touch you.

Blocks- you will run into some blocks that are spaced out regularly and are different heights. Jump from one to the next until you are past them. Each block is worth 100 points.

Fish- red fish. These will jump up out of puddles. Don't touch them. You will run into many more things. The best policy is not to touch anything that isn't mentioned above as something you should touch.

Make your way from one "BabyLand" park entrance to another and you've completed that stage. You will gain 2,000 points for completion and extra points for any time you have left over. You will get a bonus kid for the first 10,000 points and another for every 20,000 points after.

Controls:

A or B Button: Jump
Joystick: Move Kid
Backspace: Resets Game

Hints:

Having a hard time jumping onto some objects? Try backing up a bit. Standing right next to an object is not always the best place to try to jump onto it, in fact, most of the time it isn't.

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/cabbage_patch_kids_adventures_park.html
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1038e0a1
Dig Dug
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 2001
Developer: CGE Services
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Based on the 1982 Namco coin-op. Namco licensed the arcade game to Atari for its US distribution. Released by CGE Services at the Classic Gaming Expo. Limited production. Price and scarcity reflect the actual prototype, not the reproduction.

Review: 

I gotta start out by saying that this game looks a hell of a lot better than it does in screenshots - it uses a color flicker on the characters that can't be reproduced in a screenshot. This game was one of three unreleased Atarisoft games for the Colecovision. Dig Dug has always been one of those classics ever since it appeared and even spawned a sequal (which for some odd reason I find more fun, but anyway) This is a pretty respectable port of the arcade game to Coleco.

I wish that I could say that this was one of the best arcade ports on the Colecovision... I really do. However, this game is pretty much mediocre at best. I think it's just the controls that bother me about this game. It's probably just a limitation of the Coleco, but it seems like it takes more air pumps to blow up a bad guy, and you definately can't blow up the enemies as fast as you can in any other version of the game. Other than that, the game is pretty close to its arcade brother.

While its not the best port of Dig Dug in the world (personally, I like the Atari 7800 version the best of all of them), this is a pretty good prototype - it seems like it may have needed a little bit of tweaking before it was released publically, but the title screen tells the whole story on this one. Yet another victim of the Crash of 1983 finally gets a chance to rise from its grave and finally show itself to the world...

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/DigDug/
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3678ab6f
Escape From The Mind Master
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1990
Developer: Starpath Corporation
Publisher: Epyx
Players: 1
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This was one of my favorite games that was released on the Atari 2600 Supercharger, mostly for the impressive (for the time) graphics and the unique (once again, for the time) first person perspective. The game never really got a fair shake tho, since the Supercharger was more of a niche product than something everyone had back in the day. This prototype is the upgraded Colecovision version of the Supercharger game... however, for some reason - most likely the Crash of 83 - this game never got the chance for a large audience.

This is a nice, simple concept for a game that can be deceptively difficult since it SEEMS simple. The goal is to grab the objects strewn about on the floor and put them in their respective places on the walls. You can only carry one object at a time, and you have to avoid lazer barriers and a wandering baddie who looks a lot like those walking binoculars from Toy Story. Once all the objects are in place, the locked door will open, and you can take that door up to the next level and do it all over again.

This game is still fun today. Like I said above, I used to play it all the time on my Supercharger, and it would have been nice to play a version that you didn't have to futz around with the multi-load tape to play. Chalk another victim up for the Great Crash of 1983...

Overview:

You've been abducted! Kidnapped! Shanghaied! You find yourself in a huge maze being watched by the Mindmaster. He is testing your intelligence, reflexes, agility, etc. The honor of you and the entire human race depends on how fast you can solve the Mindmaster's puzzles and six mazes.

Directions:

You begin in maze one. You must go through the maze and find colored, shaped pegs then find the correct shaped hole to put it in. As if that wasn't bad enough, there is an Alien Stalker wandering the maze and if he touches you, you lose one chance. You can tell how close he is by the beeping sound. The faster and higher it is, the closer he is. He cannot pass through walls or doors. Also, starting with maze two, there are force fields in the maze that if you touch them, you lose one chance. There are also one-way doors starting with maze four. If you go through one and turn around, there is no way back. You can never go through a door when backing up.

There are also skill tests in mazes one through five that you can complete for points. They are as follows:

Maze 1: Agility - Move your cursor from side to side to avoid the falling bricks. The four collisions and the test is done.

Maze 2: Reflexes - Press your joystick in the direction of the arrow

Maze 3: Recall - Watch the sequence of flashing arrows then move your joystick in the same sequence

Maze 4: Dexterity - The same as the agility test except the test is over if you get hit once

Maze 5: Coordination - Land a lander onto a platform without using much fuel. You get up to five attempts.

You start each maze with sixty points and every few seconds a point is deducted. The total score for each maze is the score you got on the skill test plus whatever is left of the beginning sixty when you exit the maze. If you lose all your chances or finish maze six, you will get your final score and the Mindmaster's impression of you and the human race.

Hints:

- Atari 2600 Difficulty Switches -
The difficulty switch on the left controls the number of chances you get.
A=5 chances
B=9 chances
The difficulty switch on the right controls the Alien Stalker's speed.
A=Fast
B=Slow

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/Escape_From_Mindmaster/
http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision/escape-from-the-mindmaster
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1bed9c5b,8a731b38
Fall Guy
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Driving
Release Date: Fox Video
Developer: 20th Cent Fox
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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Nothing like the good old days of video gaming where each and every marginally successful property was eventually converted into a video game. Come to think of it, not much has changed in that reguard! Oh well, at least we're all not subject to crap like "KIBBLES AND BITS AND BITS AND BITS: THE GAME" for the PS2. Then again, it would probably be better than this travesty.

Now, I don't remember much about The Fall Guy, but of what I do remember, I don't see what this game has to do with the show. I've only managed to do two things in this game in my testing: Turn too fast and crash, as well as run out of gas and crash. Oh, and the police chased me and I crashed. So what the hell do you do in this game? Well, you got me. All I can do is crash in various ways.

It's not that the game looks bad, hell, for a Colecovision game, it looks damn nice. I just don't see what to do! It's got to be one of two things in my opinion: either the game is quite unfinished and unplayable, or ColEm doesn't emulate it correctly.

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/fall_guy/
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52228000
Joust
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Atarisoft
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS; CO-OP
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Based on the 1982 Williams coin-op. Flap your way to victory by fighting gravity and landing your spear above the enemy riders. Original arcade game designed by John Newcomer. Released by CGE Services at the Classic Gaming Expo. Limited production. The game is missing sound. Price and scarcity reflect the actual prototype, not the reproduction.

Review:

Ah, the third and final Atarisoft prototype released at the Classic Gaming Expo 2001. Unlike Pac Man and Dig Dug however, it appears that a little more work was needed on this one before its eventual release. While I was never a very big fan of Joust myself, I did play it a few hundred times over the years. This particular version is pretty good - not overly hard and pretty good graphics-wise as well. As far as the Coleco can go, anyway =]

If I was to take a guess at the completeness of this game, I'd have to say somewhere in the 85% to 90% range. The gameplay seems to be complete, with only one occasional non-fatal bug that I've been able to pull off a few times - I've managed to land my bird without him putting his legs down, but you can still fly up, so it isn't a serious bug. Sound is completely absent from this ROM - don't worry, it isn't the emu or your computer, this one's just silent. The only other item of note is the lack of a title screen.

I've said this for both of the other Atarisoft games, and I'll say it for this one too - it's quite sad that the crash killed these off. While most of us had many different versions of these games, all three of these would have made excellent additions to any Coleco fan's collection...

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/joust/
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fc95b302
M*A*S*H
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Unknown
Release Date: 1983
Developer: 20th Century Fox
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
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Hmm, ya know, I watched M*A*S*H for many years, and for all of them, I really don't remember Hawkeye nor Trapper ever taking up and flying a helicoptor. Well, I suppose some changes needed to be made for the video game. Anyway, this is the prototype ROM of M*A*S*H, which is quite a fun Colecovision game that never saw the light of day. The game consists of two major portions that never vary. This redundancy is probably the reason this game never saw the light of day.

The game starts with both you as Hawkeye and the computer as Trapper in helicopters. The goal in this level is to pick up as many of the red blobs (wounded) as possible while avoiding the tank fire. After all the wounded have been picked up, speed back to base where the second level starts. If you ever played "Operation" as a kid, you'll recognize this level. Grab the white dot with the cursor and get it out of the wounded's body without touching the sides. After you do this for all the wounded, you go back to the helicoptor scene, just with more wounded and more tanks.

While this game may seem quite redundant, what classic game wasn't? Personally, I think this game is quite fun to play, even though it has very little to actually do with the television show. If you haven't done so, give it a download and play it - you'll be plesantly surprised... and possibly a little disappointed that you never got a chance to try this on a regular Colecovision...

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/MASH/
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1c7c99d8,a40a07e8
Pac-Man
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 2001
Developer: Atarisoft
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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Oh BOY! Now if only this game had been released back in the day, I probably wouldn't have sucked at Pac Man so much! After the abysmal failure that was the Atari 2600 version of Pac Man, the abysmal failure that was the Atari 5200 joystick, and the Crash of 83, there wasn't a decent version of Pac Man that was released for the classic gaming consoles back in the day. (well, the Intellivision one doesn't seem too bad, but I never could convince my parents to buy a THIRD version of Pac Man) Anyway, this was one of three Atarisoft Colecovision games that were recently released to the public at the Classic Gaming Expo.

This is a pretty faithful port of Pac Man - it even contains the usual "coffee break" scenes to give your wrists a break. There are a few neat additions in this game. I kinda dig all the new animations on the ghosts - take a look at them when they travel towards the bottom of the screen - they look downright *evil!* Also, when they reform, they have this really cool fade-in effect in their center box. Its a great port, give it a try!

Well, it's Pac Man all right... one of the better ports of it too. Just like most of the "classic" system prototypes on this page, this looks to be another case of the Crash killing off what would have been another great addition to any Coleco owner's collection...

Gameplay:

The player controls Pac-Man through a maze, eating pac-dots. When all dots are eaten, Pac-Man is taken to the next stage. Four ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) roam the maze, trying to catch Pac-Man. If a ghost touches Pac-Man, a life is lost. When all lives have been lost, the game ends. Pac-Man is awarded a single bonus life at 10,000 points by default—DIP switches inside the machine can change the required points or disable the bonus life altogether.

Near the corners of the maze are four larger, flashing dots known as power pellets that provide Pac-Man with the temporary ability to eat the ghosts. The ghosts turn deep blue, reverse direction, and usually move more slowly when Pac-Man eats a power pellet. When a ghost is eaten, its eyes return to the ghost home where it is regenerated in its normal color. Blue ghosts flash white before they become dangerous again and the amount of time the ghosts remain vulnerable varies from one board to the next, but the time period generally becomes shorter as the game progresses. In later stages, the ghosts do not change colors at all, but still reverse direction when a power pellet is eaten.

In addition to Pac-dots and power pellets, bonus items, usually referred to as fruits (though not all items are fruits) appear near the center of the maze. These items score extra bonus points when eaten. The items change and bonus values increase throughout the game. Also, a series of intermissions play after certain levels toward the beginning of the game, showing a humorous set of interactions between Pac-Man and Blinky (the red ghost).

Ghosts:

Initially, Pac-Man's enemies were referred to as monsters on the arcade cabinet, but soon became colloquially known as ghosts.

The ghosts are bound by the maze in the same way as Pac-Man, but generally move slightly faster than the player, although they slow down when turning corners and slow down significantly while passing through the tunnels on the sides of the maze (Pac-Man passes through these tunnels unhindered). Pac-Man slows down slightly while eating dots, potentially allowing a chasing ghost to catch him.

Blinky, the red ghost, also speeds up after a certain number of dots are eaten (this number gets lower in higher levels).

A ghost always maintains its current direction until it reaches an intersection, at which point it can turn left or right. Periodically, the ghosts will reverse direction and head for the corners of the maze (commonly referred to as "scatter mode"), before reverting to their normal behavior. In an interview, Iwatani stated that he had designed each ghost with its own distinct personality in order to keep the game from becoming impossibly difficult or boring to play. However, while players generally agree that the behaviors of each ghost add depth and challenge to the game, no consensus has been reached on exactly how to describe those behaviors.

Despite the seemingly random nature of some of the ghosts, their movements are strictly deterministic, enabling experienced players to devise precise sequences of movements for each level (termed "patterns") that allow them to complete the levels without ever being caught. A later revision of the game code altered the ghosts' behavior, but new patterns were soon developed for that behavior as well. Players have also learned how to exploit other flaws in the ghosts' behavior, including finding places where they can hide indefinitely without moving, and a code bug occasionally allows Pac-Man to pass through a non-blue ghost unharmed. Several patterns have been developed to exploit this bug. The bug arises from the fact that the game logic only performs collision detection on tile granularity. If a ghost and Pac-Man switch tiles simultaneously, a collision isn't detected.

Development: 

The game was developed primarily by Namco employee Toru Iwatani over eighteen months. The original title was pronounced pakku-man and was inspired by the Japanese onomatopoeic phrase paku-paku taberu, where paku-paku describes (the sound of) the mouth movement when widely opened and then closed in succession. Although it is often cited that the character's shape was inspired by a pizza missing a slice, he admitted in a 1986 interview that it was a half-truth and the character design also came from simplifying and rounding out the Japanese character for mouth, kuchi as well as the basic concept of eating. Iwatani's efforts to appeal to a wider audience—beyond the typical demographics of young boys and teenagers—eventually led him to add elements of a maze. The result was a game he named Puck Man.

When first launched in Japan by Namco, the game received a lukewarm response, as Space Invaders and other similar games were more popular at the time.

The following year, the game was picked up for manufacture in the United States by Bally division Midway, under the altered title Pac-Man (see Localization, below). American audiences welcomed a breakaway from conventions set by Space Invaders, which resulted in unprecedented popularity and revenue that rivaled its successful predecessor, as even Iwatani was impressed with U.S. sales. The game soon became a worldwide phenomenon within the video game industry, resulting in numerous sequels and merchandising tie-ins. Pac-Man's success bred imitation, and an entire genre of maze-chase video games soon emerged.

The unique game design inspired game publishers to be innovative rather than conservative, and encouraged them to speculate on game designs that broke from existing genres. Pac-Man introduced an element of humor into video games that designers sought to imitate, and appealed to a wider demographic than the teenage boys who flocked to the action-oriented games.

Pac-Man's success in North America took competitors and distributors completely by surprise in 1980. Marketing executives who saw Pac-Man at a trade show prior to release completely overlooked the game (along with the now classic Defender), while they looked to a racing car game called Rally-X as the game to outdo that year. The appeal of Pac-Man was such that the game caught on immediately with the public; it quickly became far more popular than anything seen in the game industry up to that point. Pac-Man outstripped Asteroids as the best-selling arcade game of the time, and would go on to sell over 350,000 units.

Pac-Man went on to become an icon of video game culture during the 1980s, and a lot of Pac-Man merchandise was marketed with the character's image, from t-shirts and toys to hand-held video game imitations and even specially shaped pasta. The Killer List of Videogames lists Pac-Man as the #1 video game on its "Top 10 Most Popular Video games" list.[24] Pac-Man, and other video games of the same general type, are often cited as an identifying cultural experience of Generation X, particularly its older members, sometimes called Baby Busters.

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/PacMan/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man
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46fc1c00
Porky's
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Movie Adaptation
Release Date: 1983
Developer: 20th Cent Fox
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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This game is similar to the Atari 2600 version but with the expected improvements in graphics and sound.

Review:

This one, for the longest time, just escaped me. No matter what I did, I wasn't able to get over the stinking lake on the first screen. So here it sat in my collection... until Kitsune Sniper told me on the messageboard here how to jump the pond. D'OH! Now it seems so easy! Anyways, Porky's is based off the classic movie of the same name. Now this game actually made production for the Atari 2600, but this version never made it out the door, and is not completed either. More on this in a bit. Each screen has a different method of gameplay. On this first screen, you need to vault the lake, fly up onto the branch, grab the ladder rung, drop down, vault to the other side and land on that branch and put the ladder rung in place. Repeat until both ladders are completed, and then climb into the shower! One thing of note on this screen - you do NOT need to do this over every time you die - the ladder rungs stay in place, but Porky will be outside blocking one of the ladders.

Woohoo!!! Colecovision nudity!! Anyway, this is the shower scene. The goal here is to push the various items, either a banana peel or a wrench, into the drain at the bottom of the screen. After a few seconds, an alarm will sound, and the bathing "beauty" will vanish and Ms. Balbricker will start chasing you around the showers. The more items you get into the drain, the faster she gets, so after about 4 or 5 items, climb the ladder on the top of the screen and move onto the next scene - crossing the highway.

Why did the idiot cross the road? To blow up Porky's, of course! Not that it makes any sense whatsoever, but this scene's difficulty is completely based off of how many items you managed to get into the drain in the previous scene. There are six lanes of traffic, and for each item tossed into the shower's drain, one of the lanes will be stopped. This part can be damn near impossible when you have to cross more than one or two lanes of moving traffic, so I recommend getting at least four or five items into the drain to make this easier. When you get across the road, you finally come face to face with Porky.

Well, this one's a pain too. Thanks to Tempest, I have finally gotten past this pain of a screen. What you have to do is push UP right next to the poles - not when you're on them. Pee Wee will climb up to the next level. If an UP arrow appears on the screen, you took the right pole. If it doesn't appear, climb back down and try another pole. And, of course, avoid Porky. After this scene, the game loops back to the beginning and you get a 2x bonus multiplier.

The game's not the worst I've ever played. A little frustrating at times, but overall not too bad. Unfortunately, it seems that the game is incomplete. In the Atari 2600 version, there was one more scene after the climbing level, in which you blow up Porky's. Other than that omission, it seems this game was pretty close to release. While its not the best game ever put to silicon, its still a bit fun to play. 

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/porkys/index.html
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caa61d8d
Power Lords: Quest for Volcan
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Probe 2000
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
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One of two prototype games that was reproduced and sold at the Classic Gaming Expo 2000, Power Lords is a game based of an obsure toy line of the 1980's. Somewhat of a unique concept is that Power Lords was a toyline without a cartoon. While it came about around the same time as The Masters of the Universe, and was designed by sci-fi illustrator Wayne Barlow (famous for Barlow's Guide to Extra Terrestrials), and also had a three issue comic book put out by DC, Power Lords was generally a flop. However, that didn't stop it from spawning a video game - Power Lords was released back in the day for the Odyssey^2 and was announced but never released for the Colecovision.

Originally found among the possessions of Troy Lukkarila, who's father was an engineer at Magnavox back in the classic gaming era, the game was sent for archiving and copies were sold at the 2000 Classic Gaming Expo. Compared to the original Odyssey^2 version, the game has two extra levels to play through. While the only level present in the O^2 version was the "Snake" level (pictured above), the Coleco version adds a scene where you are running over the surface of the planet, and you can descend staircases into hallways (pictured to the right), where items can be collected. A simple, yet decently fun game.

This game seems to have been pretty near completion. While the surface levels seem like they could use a bit of graphic polishing, both it and the snake level seem to be complete. However, the hall level seems to be the one that would have seen some work had the game gone all the way to a commercial release. The only item that seems to have any effect on gameplay is the key, which lets you escape the hall. The rifle and the armor have no effect on play at all. Give it a shot... it may need a little work, but it's not too bad!

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/power_lords/
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ef25af90
Super DK!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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This game is an improved version of the Donkey Kong that was actually released for the Colecovision. This version, which appears to be a conversion of the ADAM computer version of Donkey Kong was found a few years back by Sean Kelly, and is described by him as an in-house version of the game that uses all of the available Colecovision memory, unlike the original version that only uses half of the memory that the system can handle.

There are two major differences in this ROM from the release version. The first difference everyone will see is that the introduction of the game is included - the one where Kong climbs the ladders with Pauline and then jumps around, bending the girders. The second addition this version makes is the addition of another level. While this may seem exciting, there is no collision detection implemented on the new level, making it a breeze just to climb up to the top and finish the level.

Well, it's Donkey Kong in a little more true-to-arcade form. While neither addition to the game really makes much of a difference, especially without collision detection on the additional level, it's still interesting to see how much more that Coleco could have done with Donkey Kong. Was the game just rushed to market, or was the fact that it was the pack-in game lead them to cut things out to make a smaller (and therefore cheaper) cartridge?

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/sdk/
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c2e7f0e0
Super DK! Junior
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
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The companion piece to Super Donkey Kong, this is the ADAM version that was discovered by Sean Kelly at the same time as Super Donkey Kong. Personally, I like the original game better, but in this case, Super Donkey Kong Jr makes off with a better feature than the original Donkey Kong's ADAM upgrade. Unfortunately, they didn't take the time to upgrade the music, and the "Key" level is still cursed with a rehashed song from Colecovision Popeye.

The only upgrade in this game, compared to the non-working level and intermissions in Super Donkey Kong is the addition of a new, fully working level over the released version of the game. The "Sparks" level has returned for this version, as seen above this paragraph, and is just as hard as ever. Since it's fully implemented, unlike the extra level in Super Donkey Kong, it actually adds some substance to the game.

More is better, right? Well, if you like Donkey Kong Jr, you now have an extra level to play through.. if not, well, at least it's worth looking at since it's different than the release version...

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/sdkjr/
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*
a9177b20,960cbe1e
Video Hustler
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Prototype)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Pool
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
Programmed by Konami for Coleco (like Antarctic Adventure), but never released commercially. It was available as public domain for the ADAM computer and eventually copied to cartridges. As it stands, it's a billiards game in a nearly-completed stage.

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised with this game. I was looking at the ROM in the list of games waiting to get prepared for System Failure, thinking "Oh Boy, 1980s Video Pool... this is gonna SUCK!" Surprisingly, however, it's actually kinda fun to play. This is a conversion of the arcade coin-op Video Hustler that's been completely redone for the Colecovision which makes the transformation quite well.

This is a very fun game, except it doesn't seem to be based off of any pool game that I've ever seen - this game seems to have been invented for this game alone. You start the game with three cue balls. Every scratch will subtract one. Also, if you go without sinking a ball for three shots will also subtract a ball. You can sink the balls in any order, and sinking them all will move you onto the next stage. Pretty simple.

Damnit, why does it seem like all the games I would have played for the Colecovision were cancelled prototypes?

I had a Colecovision back in the day that really did nothing except collect dust... however if games like this and Moon Patrol had been released, I might have had more interest...

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/video_hustler/
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997ad8de
Yolk's on You
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge (Prototype)
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Educational
Release Date: 1983
Developer: 20th Century Fox
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Bawwwk! Nothing like finishing the movie Chicken Run and finding this game next in line to get a page written up for it. It's a little sad, if only this game was a little longer, and maybe a little faster paced, it would have made a great Colecovision game! The basic jist of the game is that you play the rooster that has to collect all the eggs laid about the yard by the chicken and get them back into the hen house.

The rules are simple. You have to roll the eggs back to the hen house (of course dummy, chickens have no hands!) without hitting any of the obsicles around the yard. One touch to the egg from anything besides you, and SPLAT - goodbye egg. You also need to avoid the various predators lurking around the yard, all of which that are more than willing to eat you alive. Once all the eggs are pushed into the hen house, the game ends.

One stinking level. Jeez. I'd like to think that the programmers just didn't get to the point of making other levels, rather than think that this was all the game was intended to be. I still say tho, if the difficulty got harder and the game got faster as the levels progressed, this would have been a winner!

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/yolks_on_you/
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7DA41B23
Amazing Snake
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: Unknown
Developer: S.E.T.
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Avoid the walls and pick up the food as the snake gets longer with every bite.
*

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1BA0688F
Bejeweled
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 2001
Developer: Daniel Bienvenu
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1
_________________________
*
Colecoized version of the classic puzzle game.
*

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8FD90A28
Breakout
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Breakout
Release Date: 2001
Developer: Daniel Bienvenu, Marcel de Kogel
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Colecoized version of the classic game Breakout.
*

*
D93A7DC2
Cosmo Fighter II
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 1997
Developer: Red Bullet Software
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Impressive little space shooter.
*

*
901C8512
Cosmo Fighter III
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 2001
Developer: M. de Kogel
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
An even more impressive sequel to Cosmo Fighter II.  This game is very reminicant of Xevious, and also features a screen that scrolls to the right and left because the playing field is larger that what you see.
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A8620258
Cye
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Philipp Klaus Krause
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Cye is a clone of Kye, a Boulderdash-like game. It has 28 levels, 5 of them are two-player levels. 

http://colecovision.eu/ColecoVision/games/Cye.shtml
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9A46EF8D
Dac-Man
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 2000
Developer: Daniel Bienvenu
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Pac-Man clone.
*

*
5C494BE5
Easter Bunny
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Unknown
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Steal the eggs from Mamma Bird, but look out! She's got you in her sights!
*

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38926DDF
Frantic
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 2009
Developer: Scott Huggins
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Frantic was designed as the third game in Stern's Berzerk  series. While simplistic by today's standards, Berzerk was groundbreaking and extremely intense for its time… so much so that it actually claimed the lives of two gamers as they tried in vain to escape the mazes of the relentless Evil Otto!

Frantic picks up where Berzerk's sequel, Frenzy, left off, offering deeper gameplay and an expanded objective. Rather than just scrambling for the nearest exit, you'll need to collect a series of keys to spring open the doors in each section of the maze. You also have the option of freeing humans locked inside statis orbs. Blasting an orb frees the hostage inside it, but get too careless with your shots and you could turn an important ally into a pile of ash! As for your foes, the usual mindless robots are joined by laser cannons and a scarier Evil Otto who deflects your shots.

Berzerk and Frenzy are a tough act to follow, but Frantic does an admirable job of reviving the run 'n gun gameplay that made its predecessors arcade hits. The control is tight, the difficulty ramps up nicely, and the option to rescue humans constantly forces you to make split-second decisions between safety and a shot at extra lives. The graphics are a bit cluttered (I'm not even sure what Otto is supposed to be now…) and Berzerk's trademark voice synthesis is strangely absent, but Frantic will still bring back a lot of fond memories for gamers old enough to remember the original, and should give everyone else a convenient excuse to dig their dusty old ColecoVisions out of their closets.

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8986882
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*
D0D15AF1
Jeepers Creepers
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Daniel Bienvenu
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Unique shooter with a scary theme.
*

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819A06E5
Kevtris
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1996
Developer: Kevin H.
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 2 VS
_________________________
*
Great 2 player homebrew version of the classic puzzle game.
*

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90007079
Matt Patrol
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: Unknown
Developer: Matt Householder
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 Alternating
_________________________
*
Identical to another Atarisoft prototype, Moon Patrol, only the various UFO's have been replaced with humorous items like ladies undergarments.

Review:

Sigh, another great arcade conversion that was killed off by the Crash. This is a derivitive of the unreleased (and, as of yet, undumped) Moon Patrol for the Colecovision. Now, while this isn't the official "would have been released" version of the game, this ROM gives a very good idea what we COULD have expected from the Colecovision version of Moon Patrol, and after looking at it, quite a feeling of disappointment that this one never got out the door.

Now, this is a graphically changed version of Moon Patrol made by Matt Householder, the programmer of the original version. The game plays exactly the same as the arcade version, with the exception of the enemies - classic UFOs, flying bras and other aliens replace the usual attackers. Other than that, there's nothing different on this than on the official game.

It's a shame that this one never got released - I would have bought this game in a heartbeat. While this may not be the original version of the game intended for release, quite honestly, its good enough to tell what the game would have played like upon release. Apparantly, a copy of the original HAS been found, but not dumped or released, so lets hope one day we'll be able to see that version...

http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Coleco/matt_patrol/
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66500E28
Mr. Chin
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 2008
Developer: CollectorVision
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Clad in Chinese clothes and wearing a Chaplin moustache, our hero, Mr. Chin, China's Proud Plate-spinner hustles onto the stage !

Five or six plate are kids stuff.

How many plates can you make him spin even with interference from rascals, and naughty plates wich to fall...

You will receive a standing ovation if you turn all the plates.

A thrilling yet comical game sure to attract your heart!

http://www.colecovision.dk/coll-chin.htm
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dffd8cb4,4e0edb24
Ms Space Fury
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 2001
Developer: Daniel Bienvenu
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 1 or 2 VS
_________________________
*
Original concept by Joe Santulli. Released in 2001 to celebrate Digital Press' tenth year publishing. Sold at the 2001 Classic Gaming Expo, approximately 75 of these cartridges were made. There is a complete instruction manual for this game as well (and it looks like an old Coleco manual).
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9C059A51
Nim
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 
Developer: Daniel Bienvenu
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
How much you wanna bet the Coleco is smarter than you?  What does that say about your XBox 360?
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36B4E466
PACAR
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 1983
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
As far as I can tell, this is a port of Pacar from the SEGA SG-1000 to the Colecovision.  ~Rx
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BBEF9E8F
Reversi
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 2001
Developer: Daniel Bienvenu
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Some may know this game as Othello...
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A6B8C56E
Schlange
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Maze
Release Date: 2006
Developer: Unknown
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
This is a port of the popular game Schlange/snake/nibbles to the Colecovision. There are four snakes, controlled using the Colecovision controllers (two humans can play simultanously) or artifical intelligence which try to avoid running into walls and eating stuff that keeps turning up on the field.

Levels:

There are 45 different levels; during a game you play trough 23 randomly selected levels ordered with increasing difficulty.

Artifical Intelligence:

There are two different AI variants in the game.

The first is a quite simple AI (AI S) which is strong in early levels, but will have difficulties with the increasing number of obstacles in higher levels.

Then there is an advanced AI (AI <search depth>) searching for optimal paths. The search depth can be configured.

Music:

At the beginning of each level music is randomly selected from 12 different melodies.

Game Rules:

A snake dies when it runs into another snake or the wall. When there are no snakes left the game is lost.

The snake that wins most levels will win the game. A level is won if a snake reaches the winning lengths. Snake length increases when the snake eats a bonus. There is a special bonus, which will halt all snakes except the one that ate it for a short time.

http://colecovision.eu/ColecoVision/games/Schlange%20CV.shtml
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E339D9CC
Search for the Stolen Crown Jewels I
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action
Release Date: 2006
Developer: Philipp Klaus Krause
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
In this game you are a prince trying to recover the stolen crown jewels needed for his coronation.

http://colecovision.eu/ColecoVision/games/Search%20for%20the%20stolen%20Crown%20Jewels.shtml
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EAF7D6DC
Search for the Stolen Crown Jewels II
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Philipp Klaus Krause
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
This game is the sequel to "Search for the Stolen Crown Jewels". A neighbouring country invaded your kingdom during the events of the first game. Now you have to fight them in the air and on the ground, in an airplane, with airship and anti-air guns, gun towers and as a special agent infiltrating and sabotaging their installations.

http://colecovision.eu/ColecoVision/games/Search%20for%20the%20stolen%20Crown%20Jewels%202.shtml
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23988EF9
Search for the Stolen Crown Jewels III
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action
Release Date: 2008
Developer: Philipp Klaus Krause
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
This game is the last part of the SCJ trilogy.

http://colecovision.eu/ColecoVision/games/Search%20for%20the%20stolen%20Crown%20Jewels%203.shtml
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5191BBA9
Space Invaders Collection Pack
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: Unknown
Developer: Eduardo Mello
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Thump, thump, thump, thump…

You KNOW that sound.  It's the sound of approaching doom.  It's the sound of terror from above.  It's the sound of… Space Invaders, a game that is without a doubt, one of the most influential videogames ever designed.

So much has been written about Space Invaders that to try and come up with something new to say about it is almost impossible.  You've heard all the stories before.  Coffee shops turned into Space Invaders arcades, quite literally, overnight.  Home versions or knockoffs of Space Invaders have appeared on every console since the dawn of time.  A former NYC arcade had ten Space Invaders machines hanging, upside down, from its ceiling.  And perhaps most recently, the Fox television show Futurama devoted and entire segment to videogames, capped off with a fantastic nod to Space Invaders.

So.  If everything's already been said about Space Invaders, then what's all this stuff? Much ado about nothing?  Or is there something new to discuss after all?

Eduardo Mello, our good friend from Brazil, has put together a brand spankin' new ColecoVision cartridge: Space Invaders Collection Pack.  It includes pixel for pixel perfect renditions of the original Space Invaders AND Space Invaders Part II!  At long last you really can, for the first time ever, recreate the honest-to-goodness arcade game experience on your ColecoVision.  AND you can even choose between black and white or full color versions of Space Invaders. Nice.

The games on this cart look exactly the same as the original arcade games.  They sound a teeny, tiny bit different, but…hey.  They play exactly the same as the originals.  They contain the same intermissions, the same tricks, and the same glitches.

Eduardo has replaced the familiar "C O L E C O V I S I O N" startup message with a wonderful animated, multicolored ColecoVision logo, and a beautifully rendered Space Invaders bonus ship that flies by overhead. Look at the side by side comparison of Eduardo's ColecoVision version and the arcade version. Aside from the obvious (and unavoidable) differences in the screen aspect ratios, Eduardo's version is spot on, right down to the colors. Sure, he had to shorten "score" to "sc" in order to make it fit the horizontal screen on your TV, but you simply couldn't ask for a better home translation of Space Invaders on a classic console.

So here's what you're gonna want to do.  Write down Eduardo's e-mail address and set aside some cash.  Because when this game hits the street, you're simply going to NEED to buy it.  Yes, this cartridge IS that good.  If you were impressed when the emulated version of Space Invaders was released for the SNES almost ten years ago, then you're REALLY going to be impressed when you see that Eduardo was able to recreate the same games. On. The. ColecoVision.  It's just outta sight.

Thanks, Eduardo.  We're already anxiously awaiting whatever you might have in store for your next ColecoVision game pack.  Game ON.

Reviewer: Dave Giarrusso
http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/spaceinvaderscoleco.htm
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AF9B178C
Space Invasion (Norm-Deluxe)
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 1998
Developer: John Dondeila
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
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Space Invaders on your Colecovision.
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37198A63
Squares!
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Action
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Harvey Dekleine
Publisher: 
Players: 
_________________________
*
Simple concept... brilliantly executed.  How long can you avoid the other squares as they speed up and grow larger?
*

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F7F18E6F
Star Fortress
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 1997
Developer: John Dondzila
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
A coleco homebrew version of an old shooter classic.
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44D527E1
Terra Attack
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 2007
Developer: Unknown
Publisher: Atari Age
Players: 
_________________________
*
Great homebrew shooter with elements from Missile Command and Atlantis.

http://www.videogamecritic.net/colecosz.htm
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21EDD14A
Adam Links Golf
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Sports - Golf
Release Date: 1986
Developer: Superior Software
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Golf game for the Coleco ADAM.
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CC958A59
Diablo
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Image Microcorp
Publisher: Extended Software
Players: 
_________________________
*
This game is very much like Pipe Dreams. 
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2773985E
Donkey Kong Jr
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: 1983
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 
_________________________
*
This version seems identical to the Colecovision version except for the fact that it contains intermission videos that are lacking in the cart version.  ~Rx
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EE955E8B
Dragon's Lair
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: 1984
Developer: Coleco
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 
_________________________
*
Very cool adaptation of this classic Arcade game given it was a home console system back in 1984.
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51035849
Hardhat and Pinball Construction Set
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: Unknown
Developer: Unknown
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Quick paced platformer which is similar to Donkey Kong and Miner 2049'er.
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E11D7417
Jeopardy!
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Game Show
Release Date: Unknown
Developer: Unknown
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
Colecovision ADAM version of the popular game show.
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04A60417
NIAD Public Domain - Volume 36
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Compilation
Release Date: 1989
Developer: TSF
Publisher: The NIAD A.U.G.
Players: 
_________________________
*
A collection of fun puzzle games.
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2762850B
Super Buck Rogers
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 1983
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 
_________________________
*
Coleco ADAM's version of the classic shooter.
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1715BCCE
Super Zaxxon
Platform: Colecovision
Region: USA (Homebrew)
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: 1984
Developer: SEGA
Publisher: Coleco
Players: 
_________________________
*
Coleco ADAM's version of the classic shooter.
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AD9CF5AA
Troll's Tale
Platform: Coleco ADAM
Region: USA
Media: Disk
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Graphical Adventure
Release Date: Unknown
Developer: Unknown
Publisher: Unknown
Players: 
_________________________
*
It's like a choose your own adventure book, but a lot simpler.  You probably don't know what a book is though, so I'm wasting my time here.  

Nevermind......  Go play Assasin's Creed 2.
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