C&VG
1st May 1984
Centipede
Whilst applauding Atari's decision to convert their top games for other micros, I can't help feeling slightly bored by their conservative choice of titles for some machines.
Do we really need Pac-Man and Galaxians for the Spectrum, even if they are the officially licensed titles? The fact is there are already dozens of excellent maze games and shoot-'em-ups for this machine.
Vic 20 owners are also victims of Atari going for the soft option with positively ancient offerings such as Pac-Man and Centipede.
I plugged in Centipede to take a look. First problem was that a quarter of the screen was out of view and steadfastly refused to be centred.For those of you who've never heard of the game, the action takes place in a mushroom field.
Using your rapid fire bug blaster, you have to annihilate everything in the garden. I hope Percy Thrower isn't reading this.
The real point earners are the jumping spiders, poisonous scorpions and frenzied fleas. Also worming its way down screen, is a centipede which squirms in and out of the mushrooms - you have to shoot each and every segment to kill this one.If you went bonkers over the arcade game, then you will enjoy playing the game at home on your Vic. It's not quite as fast as the Atari version and lacks the prettiness of the original - though these are shortcomings of the Vic, not the cartridge.
What really gets me is that, with so many great new games to choose from, and some of the best game-writing talent in the US, Atarisoft continue to churn out video geriatrics like Centipede and Pac-Man. What about Xevious, Star Wars, Robotron and Pole Position?!
