+Psionic Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) If you haven't had enough of Pac-clones, check out Jawbreaker! Decent review of a nice game. One bit of innacuracy though... However, that’s where all similarities of the game ends, since Atari never sued Tigervision (to the best of my knowledge) over their Jawbreaker game, since it was different enough from Pac-Man that Atari never bothered... Atari indeed never sued Tigervision, but they had no reason to...Jawbreaker was developed by Sierra On-Line. Tigervision was simply the publisher. Atari in fact did threaten Sierra with legal action over the original version of Jawbreaker for the Atari 400/800 and Apple II (which was a straight-up Pac-Man clone) and that is one reason why John Harris altered the gameplay of the 2600 port of the game (the other reason being the hardware limitations of the VCS). All later computer versions of the original Jawbreaker were replaced with a new version referred to as 'Jawbreaker II'. left: original Jawbreaker on Atari 400/800 by John Harris center: Jawbreaker on Atari 2600 by John Harris right: new Jawbreaker (Jawbreaker II) on Atari 400/800 by Chuck Bueche Edited February 18, 2008 by PingvinBlueJeans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 left: original Jawbreaker on Atari 400/800 by John Harriscenter: Jawbreaker on Atari 2600 by John Harris right: new Jawbreaker (Jawbreaker II) on Atari 400/800 by Chuck Bueche The 2600 version looks more intense due to more levels....I wonder if it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 The 2600 version looks more intense due to more levels....I wonder if it was. You mean the actual rows on the screen? Yes, the 2600 port had more rows...the graphics in Jawbreaker II were much too large. There's another problem though... Jawbreaker II had a fatal design flaw. Look closely at the screenshot above and tell me what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 The 2600 version looks more intense due to more levels....I wonder if it was. You mean the actual rows on the screen? Yes, the 2600 port had more rows...the graphics in Jawbreaker II were much too large. There's another problem though... Jawbreaker II had a fatal design flaw. Look closely at the screenshot above and tell me what it is. Yes...I meant "rows." I am guessing the flaw is that the ends of the "rows" are blocked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) I am guessing the flaw is that the ends of the "rows" are blocked? Bingo. That was a mistake...and it renders the game nearly unplayable. The story I've heard is that Chuck Bueche was supposed to program a new 8-bit version of Jawbreaker based on the VCS port by John Harris. Unfortunately, "Chuckles" apparently never actually played the 2600 port and instead based the game on a design diagram given to him by Ken Williams. Unfortunately, Ken fucked up when he drew it and forgot to leave the ends of the rows open. So the new version was based on this botched design drawing. The game was completed and Sierra never corrected the error or just didn't care, so the game was basically shipped 'broken'. Not only that, the new botched version was ported to the Commodore 64 as well. :!: Yup...it's stuff like this that resulted in the video game crash. Edited February 26, 2008 by PingvinBlueJeans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Yup...it's stuff like this that resulted in the video game crash. Thanks. That's an interesting story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 Decent review of a nice game. One bit of innacuracy though...However, that’s where all similarities of the game ends, since Atari never sued Tigervision (to the best of my knowledge) over their Jawbreaker game, since it was different enough from Pac-Man that Atari never bothered... Atari indeed never sued Tigervision, but they had no reason to...Jawbreaker was developed by Sierra On-Line. Tigervision was simply the publisher. Atari in fact did threaten Sierra with legal action over the original version of Jawbreaker for the Atari 400/800 and Apple II (which was a straight-up Pac-Man clone) and that is one reason why John Harris altered the gameplay of the 2600 port of the game (the other reason being the hardware limitations of the VCS). All later computer versions of the original Jawbreaker were replaced with a new version referred to as 'Jawbreaker II'. Thanks for mentioning. You should post that as a comment at the bottom of the article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 Well, I've added my first new article (written by me) in quite some time. Check it out, it's called The ABC's of Atari. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nognir Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Interesting article! Was fun to read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 Sorry for the delay today. Had to gen up an article my own self! It's been awhile since I wrote a review (April 2005 was my last) but I don't think I could have chosen a better game to make a comeback with! It's Lady Bug for the 2600! Is this game not arcade perfection or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Been awhile since there's been any new updates but starting tomorrow we'll have some new stuff posted! Check back often! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recycled Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Coincidentally, I looked on there the other day after a very long time. I was surprised there wasn't anything new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Yeah, I was surprised too! Starting a new job and running out of queued articles will do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Welp, been awhile... And I'm excited to say that TAT is coming back... Very soon now it will re-launch with a new design, new articles, new stuff... So, hopefully you'll come back and check us out again. And join up and contribute some articles / reviews! Not sure of the date exactly... It's basically ready, I'm just obsessively checking things over. (And if you want a preview, let me know and I'll send you a link. I'd appreciate your comments!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Ok, for the three of us who care, (including myself and partner Darryl B.) TAT is back and revamped! Many of the original features are back and better than ever. Including the "Compare Screens" feature where you select a game and see screenshots for each game. Other features are redone or in the process of being redone (the average scoring for games of each system for example.) I'll be posting new articles regularly again, even if I have to write them all myself! I also want to add some video reviews since that appears to be the hot thing to do (young whippersnappers don't read much thesedays, do they?) So check out the new TAT and put us back on your regular link rotation! http://www.ataritimes.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Ok, so the first reviews for the returned TAT are: Stellar Track (2600) - A game I've actually always liked. A neighbor kid had it and I thought it was cool to be able to play as the "Star Trek" captain. Star Wars: The Arcade Game (2600) - This I was a bit disappointed when I got it since I wanted the 8-bit version. But turns out they're basically the same. (I just realized this is DUELING FRANCHISES between "Star Trek" and Star Wars. Hmmm...) Also, I restored the Game Scores page which averages all the scores collected. I should have the feature where new scores can be added soon. More to come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Anybody own Harbor Escape? Game seems rather familiar.... Seems like there was some hacking going on way back when.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Sauron Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Hey Greg, glad to see TAT is still going! I used to frequent your site way back in the day, but I have to admit that I haven't been there in quite a long time. It definitely looks (much) different now. I'll see what I can do to contribute an article here or there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Hey Greg, glad to see TAT is still going! I used to frequent your site way back in the day, but I have to admit that I haven't been there in quite a long time. It definitely looks (much) different now. I'll see what I can do to contribute an article here or there. Thanks man! Hope you are doing good in your new home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 Posted a review of the Atari ST version of Dungeon Master... It was the reason I bought an ST in the first place! http://www.ataritimes.com/index.php?ArticleIDX=633 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Posted a review of the Atari ST version of Dungeon Master... It was the reason I bought an ST in the first place! http://www.ataritimes.com/index.php?ArticleIDX=633... ...and a nice one it is, too. This is why I enjoy TAT -- it reminds me of all the great games I've yet to try! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 The latest review is for Decathlon... How many of you have broken joysticks thanks to this game!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 So, here's an article that will no doubt spark tons of controversy and could quite possibly cost me my Atarian card. I present you with: The Atari 7800 vs. Nintendo NES Who will win this grudge match? You might be surprised... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ripdubski Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 The latest review is for Decathlon... How many of you have broken joysticks thanks to this game!? Check! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Wrong joystick then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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