Warlords

WMbeP

Publisher:  Atari
Developer: Atari, Inc./Carla Meninsky
Platform: Atari 2600
Release: 1981

 

The game was ported over from the arcade by Carla Meninsky, one of two female game designers to work for Atari in the early 80s, she also worked on an unreleased prototype of Tempest. While not graphically superior, Warlords offers a massive amount of fun, especially when playing with friends. The game supports up to four players with the use of two sets of paddles, you control one of the four sons (Dominick, Marcus, Felipe, and Restivo) of the king apparently… Here’s what it says in the manual “Once long ago in a distant land lived a king named Frederick.  He took very good care of his subjects and pretty much let the kingdom run itself.  One day King Frederick and his wife, Queen Christina, decided to start a family. To their surprise, Queen Christina soon gave birth to quadruplets.  Four healthy sons, all at once.  The King and Queen were overwhelmed.” There is actually quite a bit more, essentially they’re four dudes trying to destroy their brothers castle.

 

If you’ve not played Warlords its a bit like a four player version of breakout where you can play against the AI or human players. Each player sits in a corner with two walls and you control a shield to protect them. Once your wall is penetrated and a good aimed lightning ball (fast)/fireball (slow) hits your warlord its game over for you.

 

Warlords features twenty-three game modes for one, two, three and four players. The game ends when all of the human players have been eliminated.  The four warlords have their own colours, orange, green, turquoise blue, and purple. The graphics are very simple like most 2600 games, and it makes it easy to just pick up and play. The controls are just a twist of a knob… and a press (and hold in some game modes) of the button. The sound, while it could be better the three sounds it does have are used effectively. Overall Warlords is fun to play on your own, and even more fun when played in a group.

 

My Top 10 Games I’ve Played This Year – 2013

I’m usually pretty late at playing games, so this list will be a mix of new and older games that I’ve played this year. There’s not really an order, but the ones closer to the top remain fresh in my memory.

 

Far Cry 3 (PC)

First up its Far Cry 3, I’ve not really played any of the Far Cry series before. Well tell a lie, I played Far Cry 2 for about 5 minutes on the Xbox 360 and hated it. I picked up the third installment during a sale not expecting to like it much, but was really surprised when I looked at my clock and I’d been playing it for about 8 hours straight. I quite like the hunting and the assassin side missions, I did most of them before I completed the story so I could unlock the special weapons and things like the upgraded wallet. I don’t usually like developers releasing a shit ton of DLC, but it would be nice to get rid of that $10k in my wallet.

Lego Marvel Super Heros (PC)

I’ve owned this game a few days, and I love it. I’ve played most if not all of the Lego games before. But this is my favorite film related one, my favourite lego game being either Lego Rock Raiders, or Lego Racers 2. I’m a Marvel fan, I grew up watching X-Men, Spider-Man among other Marvel favourites, so I was expecting to like this game. I love all the little details, the cool animations when the characters transform and the humour is amazing as usual. I’ve enjoyed it so far, more than the Star Wars series of Lego games and I love Star Wars. The open world of Lego Marvel Super Heros just makes it the super hero game that everyones been asking for.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 (PC)

First of all I’m not entirely sure why I like this game as much as I do. I’ve found myself wanting to put up little scented trees around my desk for that “realistic experience”. I enjoy racing games but it wasn’t until I got Euro Truck Simulator 2 I bought a steering wheel for my computer. At the time of writing this I’ve spent 51 hours trying not to crash, 51 hours of learning to drive, 51 hours of delivering virtual goods, 51 hours trying to remember where the best fuel prices are, 51 hours trying to remember if I’m on the correct side of the road, 51 hours creating my perfect big purple truck, 51 hours…

Just Cause 2: Multiplayer Mod (PC)

I know its not a game its a mod, but it’s still stupidly fun! Spawning the largest aircraft and hoping to keep it in flight, zooming around in sports cars with people attached to your roof, among other things. Anything Just Cause 2 can do, JC2: MP can do better! The only let down to the game is that it’s attracted a mass amount of racist and homophobic people using the chat function which ruins the game a bit for me.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (PC)

I quite like this, its like free money after you’ve bought the game. Team Fortress 2 as lost its fun due to the people who just buy to win. Unlike CS:GO where the weapon doesn’t actually change, I find it’s a better model. I don’t understand the whole “Ooo there’s an almost unique skin that about 19 people at once can see, I better pay ÂŁ20+ for it.” mentality. I guess that’s good for those who just sell the skins to buy more games like myself. Its a good game, but I feel the sound is a bit off. Judging where people are can be harder compared to the older Counter Strike games.

Cybermorph (Jaguar)

Received an Atari Jaguar earlier this year with two games, Doom and Cybermorph. I’m going to compare it to Star Fox due it similar graphics without the rails. It’s like Star Fox meets Star Wars: Rogue Squadron made in ’93. It’s a fun, challenging and it’s definitely worth a play if you have access to a Jaguar.

 

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (PC)

This game shocked me, I wasn’t expecting to have so much fun while playing this. I found myself enjoying it more than most of the Mario Kart games I’ve ever played, and I grew up as a Nintendo Kid. The switch between kart, aircraft and boats is amazing, and the small learning curve makes it a perfect pick up and play game when you’re friends are around. I couldn’t recommend this game enough.

Animal Crossing (3DS)

Another game series  that people were and are raving about that I’ve never played until this one. It’s like a Facebook game in your pocket. Unlike Facebook, it’s real… I found myself feeling sad when one of my villagers moved away, now I just hope and play pretty much everyday just so I get to keep my little friends who live inside my 3DS .

 

Pokémon X (3DS)

The PokĂ©mon games have been the games that pretty much everyone my age have played. I own X, which I’ve not come across that many people via Streepass playing. Not sure why that is, Xerneas is definitely cooler! The story it good, and I love the new features such as Wonder Trade and the ability to take picture, even if its just in selected spots. But I feel if you play as a male you don’t get much choice of clothing, but then again I hardly wear anything different in real life.

 

Tennnes (PC)

This is a game I don’t actually own, I played it at a friends house earlier this year. The controls were a little different most games, the controls kinda reminded me of Warlords (Atari 2600), but lacking the ability the hold the squa.. I mean the ball. Great game which I really hope that they release one day so I can own it.