Includes cartridge and full-color manual. Available in NTSC and
PAL television formats
When it comes to computer games, I largely missed out. I never
had an Atari 400 or a Commodore 64. My first computer was a
Timex Sinclair 1000, followed by the IBM PCjr. Oh, how they
laughed at the university.
Any time I wanted to try a computer game, I had to go to a
friend's house. This is how I managed to at least try games like
Spy vs. Spy, Jumpman, and a few other classics. As I see
more and more games that tout the “Just like the original!” slo-
gan, I realize the odd position I'm in. I can't compare them to the
source material to see how well they stack up. Then again, it
shouldn't matter that much, since games should be judged based
upon playability, not nostalgia.
Conquest Of Mars is based on a game for the Atari 8-bit com-
puter line-up. The original, Caverns Of Mars, was coded by
Greg Christensen for the Atari Program Exchange and has the
distinction of being one of the few fan projects picked up by a
Conquest of Mars by John Champeau (Atari major publisher. Conquest Of Mars is a reworking by John W. Champeau of Champ Games, whose web site features a lot of
2600) DOS clones of popular games. In fact, the title screen is nearly a
Available from
AtariAge.com for $25 dead ringer.
In the year 4014, the planet Earth and the planet Mars are locked
in a century-long war. The Martians have devised a plan to de-
stroy Earth using the power from their latest weapon: the De-
structo-Bomb!! The Martian forces have managed to construct
five bombs and have placed them deep inside the Martian Cav-
erns, awaiting the final command from their leader to attack!!! Do
you have the skill to navigate to the depths of the Martian cav-
erns, active the Destructo-Bombs, and escape before they ex-
plode? Good Luck!
Conquest of Mars is an accurate translation to the Atari 2600 of a
popular Atari 8-bit computer title. Destroy the Martian rebellion by
descending through the six caverns of Mars to activate the main
energy reactors and escape to the surface before they blow up!
Do you have the skill and quick reflexes required to descend into
the Martian depths without being annihilated? And once you Even someone like me who has never played the original before
reach the bottom, can you make it out alive? knew exactly what I was dealing with in the game's first few sec-onds. It's a vertical version of Scramble. You fly down through
a loooooooong cavern shooting targets, including fuel depots that
give you more fuel. At the bottom is a bomb that you activate,
then you have to fly back out again before it goes "boom".
The game does have a charm, and the difficulty is ramped up
pretty well, even on the novice level. However, I do have a major
problem with the game's play mechanics. Your ship fires two
shots from the outer edges. When things get cooking, like after
the first subsection you go through when rockets start coming up,
force of habit will have you centering your ship over the target,
only to have your shots miss completely while you get nailed.
Features:
1 or 2 Players
4 Skill Levels
Pause Feature
Uses joystick controller
Hi-Score
6 Different Stages
6 Caverns (Continued on page 15)
14 | Video Game Trader Magazine | July 2008 |
www.VideoGameTrader.com
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