Is there life after Pac-Man? Certainly not if the gloom and doomers

have their way. The doomsday boys see the video game 'fad' riding off into

the sunset joining the urban cowboy, the full service gas station and the

pet rock.  Conventional wisdom notwithstanding I headed off to the local

arcade to witness this video funeral '82.

         Shouldering my way through the slack-jawed, glassy-eyed masses

I realized this was not a funeral, but some kind of space-age bioelectronic

seance.  Many of the throng stood mesmerized at the altars of last years

favorites: Asteroids, Pac-Man, Defender, and Berzerk among others.  But

there were also some new faces in the crowd with close family ties:

Space Duel (Asteroids III), Ms Pac-Man, Stargate (deluxe Defender), and

Frenzy (Deluxe Berzerk). '82 may well go down in history as the year

of the 'Deluxe game'.  The arcade scene has been hit by more spin-offs,

ripoffs, retreads, and cross polenizations then you can shake a joystick at.

Is all this some kind of corporate conspiracy against originality, or could

there be some socially redeeming value to this clone onslaught?

         No sooner had I set out to investigate this chinese-copy 

syndrome then two illegitmate offspring of the granddaddy of damn near

everything (Pac-Man of course) cought my eye. Could there possibly be any

socially redeeming value to this Dig-Dug game by Atari, and whats this? ...

Midway's The Adventures of Robby Roto?  The absurdity of it all I thought.

Poor old Pac-Man is probably turning over in his video grave. Both of these

new games seem to be part of a growing underground movement in video. They

each feature Pac-Man like buggers who have abandoned the surface diet of

blips, energizer cookies, and an occasional fruit snack for the heartier

subterranean fare of good old mother earth.  Ychhhhh !!!!  The digging

game has arrived.  Both Roto and Dig-Dug feature the usual 4-way joystick

to control player movement, and each has one additonal special purpose

button. (Magic on Roto and Pump on Dig-Dug - boy does that name sound 

stupid). Fortunately, here the similarities end.  The Adventures of Robby

Roto is based upon the classic hostage scenario.  You control Robby (a

Pac-Man dressed up in a coal miners hat) and your job is to rescue a

motley group of hostages held in an underground maze by some nasty

spiders (Iranians??) who inexplicably have the power to walk through

solid rock.  As you descend into the catacomb you must avoid the bad guys

and release the hostages by tunnelling to them and leading them to the    

surface.  While you are underground be sure to get the key which opens

the maze exit,  and snatch as many treasures as you safely can along the

way. (This will help you out in the points category).  Of course the

Iranian spiders are nasty chaps and will try to recapture liberated

hostages or worse yet do you in.  If you find yourself cornered try the

Magic button- its momentarily stuns the bad guys allowing a quick getaway.

Sorry, only one Magic per maze, but you can save them up.  Theres a few

nifty special effects,  but there's nothing here thats awe inspiring.  The

graphics are cute but unspectacular (We've seen this stuff before on Gorf

and Wizard of Wor.) but thats not the point here.  Roto is just relaxing

video fun.  Nothing fancy, nothing heavy.  Perhaps the first generic video?

Certainly not the last.


         Back to Dig-Dug.  Rather than playing the good-guy hostage rescuer,

in Dig-Dug the player is cast as a wanton sadist bent on destroying a race

of underground weevils by mercilessly pumping up the critters until they pop

If this isn't enough to sadisfy you S+M freaks, by deftly digging one can

drop a large boulder on a hapless adversary.  CCRRUNCHHHH.  This is the

basic concept behind Dig-Dug- using your trusty 4-way joysitck you dig

your own free form underground maze.  Watch out for the rocks! This  

underground utopia is also inhabited by weevils.  They dont like you and

you dont like them.  Why? Who knows why.  Look out!! Like the Iranians in

Roto, some of these guys have the amazing ability to walk through solid

granite.  Like all Pac-Man spinoff games you die when an enemy touches you.

Your job is to get rid of the weevils before they get away or get rid of you

When the urge strikes you to do away with your fellow underground citizen

reach for the Pump button... and this is when the Freudian action begins.

Pressing "Pump" launches a 1" phallus (for lack of a better term) in your

direction of travel.  If a weevil is within range, the phallus is attached

and he is inflated until he explodes. Since you are immobilized during the

pumping process, never pump up a weevil when another is in your area.  If

you are threatened release the pump button to escape.

         Compared to Roto, Dig-Dug is simpler conceptually and therefore

will have broader initial appeal.  However since Dig-Dug lacks complexity

it risks putting more advanced players to sleep.  Is Dig-Dug a Dig-Dog??

Not likely.  It's a no-nonsense basic game- another good candidate for

generic video of the year.  Wake me up when I'm done.


         Continuing to shoulder my way through the manic hordes I spot

yet another digging game.  "The Pit" by Centuri, but my appetite for

underground action has worn off. I move on. I'm temporaily deafened by

the roar of two sitdown driving machines side by side.  Turbo, by Sega    

and Taito`s Grand Champion.

         I climb into Turbo's cockpit, rev my engine, shift to low, and

take off on an unparalleled 3D driving experience.  Although the graphics

are a little jumpy and disapointingly low res, the realism is there as the

3D cityscapes flash by.  I weave my way through the pack with the familiar

back and forth steering motion.  Definitely exhilerating.  Whats this?  An

ambulance passing me up when I must be traveling half the speed of light??

Deja vu... shades of Monaco Grand Prix, last years driving hit.  Oh well

another spin off is spun I think to myself as I navigate the stock day,

night, and ice sequences.  There are a few new things, like kamikazee

"smart" cars that love to crash into you, and a nice variable speed gas

pedal, but you would think that if they went to all the trouble to give

us 3D graphics they could have at least spent an hour thinking up some

new rules?  All in all an exhilerating experience.  Certainly beats payments

on a 928.


         I slide over into Grand Champion.  The controls are familiar.

Steering wheel, gas pedal, and lefthanded lo-hi shifter.  I switch on the

ignition and there I am on the starting grid behind about 30 cars and some

idiot  waving a flag.  "Go" he says in a raspy synthetic voice and the

obviously rigged start sequence takes off.  The other guys all get a head

start, so it looks like I'm gonna have to work my way up from the back of

the pack.  Not just a rehash of last years driving game, Grand Champion

puts you in a real race: the goal is to pass up the other cars and finish

in the top 6 which qualifies you for the next race.  You race until you

finish out of the money.  There's a nifty scanner in the uppper right of

the CRT that tells you where you are in the race, but its so phony it's

laughable.  Your numerical ranking is displayed prominently so

you always know where you stand in the race.  Apart from the novel rules

Grand Champion is your basic 2D overhead view driving setup with the now

obligatory staightaways, curves, narrows, forks etc.  There is an exciting

foul weather sequence where you must dodge lightning bolts, and also a

nice psuedo 3D tunnel.  My favorite feature is to watch the opponent cars

occasionally collide and explode with one another- the easy way to improve

your ranking.  When an inevitable crack-up occurs it takes

forever to get back into the race.  First you must steer into the pits,

and then wait for what seems to be an eternity while some cutesy mechanic

walks over and yells "Hurry Up" at you.  I finish in 8th place and its game

over, but my driving adrenalin is just starting to flow.  Well what do I do?

Drive a real race with uninspiring graphics (Grand Champion), or opt for

a saccharin speedway with sexy 3D scenery?  My quarter goes into Turbo.

         Turbo's drone is at last deafening me and the warp speed ambulance

runs down my sleek formula machine for the last time.  Once again I'm on the

loose, a video addict looking for a fix.  There's a crowd over by the change

machine.  I move closer to investigate.  Zaxxon by Gremlin/Sega and Tempest

by Atari.  The guy on Tempest is good.  While his right hand twirls the opto

wheel knob to postion his spiderlike blip along the upper edge of a 3D

geometric tunnel, he blasts hordes of cosmic denizens making their way from

the bottom of a space-pit.  Once a tunnel is cleared he avoids the spikes

as he travels through a mind bending galaxy to the next pattern.  Often

in the heat of battle a 'flipper' makes it to the upper rim and moves in

for the kill, but to no avail.  By deftly tapping the fire button just as

the flipper flips onto his man, the player sends the flipper into video

oblivion.  But look out.  Spark balls at 4 o'clock, flippers 12 o'clock

high... BLAM!!! the Super Zapper nails 'em all (1 per pattern please, 2nd

has limited effect).  Our hero is once more in the clear.  Tempest's color

X-Y 3D effects are definitely enticing, and the everchanging tunnel grid

patterns provide constant variety...(watch out for the figure 8,broken red,

and invisible grids!!)  There's also a nice game select feature that allows

the player to select his play level to match his abilites.  The advanced

player can shoot for high score by starting successively at higher and

higher levels with greater and greater bonuses until his quarters run out.

The uninitiated might ask: Whats the point? So what if I avoid the spikes

and super zap the spark balls, moving on to the umpteenth grid?  Whats the

payoff?  Whats the reason behind all this madness?  The answer is obvious.

There is no point to be made here, no axes to be ground.  Tempest just is...

and if that's not enough for you... tough shit!!


         Zaxxon is another eye-catcher.  Imagine piloting a starship into

a space fortress that is a cross between a medieval castle, a gas station,

aircraft carrier, and the Enterprise.  All of this is displayed with an    

isometric fake 3D projection on a vivid color raster screen.  Very pretty

but since this is not true 3D, the neophyte has a hard time figuring out

how high he is.  Watching the altimeter gauge and the ship's shadow help,

but be prepared for a lot of rough landings into the side of brick walls.

Yes Virginia, there are BRICKS in space!!!!  The game play is identical to

the classic 'wallpaper' scenario.  Scramble was the one of the first of this

genre. The basic idea is quite simple: as the 'wallpaper' scenery scrolls by

shoot anything that moves and avoid everything else.  No hostages to rescue,

no planet to defend, just good old kill, kill, kill.  Learning the flight

joystick control is trying at first (remember up is down and vice versa),

but after you earn your wings few things in life are as pleasurable as

sweeping in low for a strafing run on the oil tanks and missile silos.

Watch out for those brick walls!!!  After successfully navigating the space

fortress, the player is cast out into a free space battle with a hostile,

but apparently mindless star fleet.  This phase is so disorienting, and

the hostile craft are so stupid that its never over too soon.  For the

second pass over the fortress, the action is more intense with electrified

fences and keyhole slots to be navigated.  Since a lot of times its hard

to tell exactly where your ship is heading try firing missiles at an 

oncoming barrier and adjust your altitude until your missiles go through

the opening- now you know you`ll make it.  Zaxxon's space-age torture

track culminates in a showdown with the highly touted Robot.  To survive

this "challenge" you must shoot him exactly 6 times in the left armpit,

otherwise quite simply your dead.  This is just a thinly veiled game over

ploy to knock all but the expert off the machine.  It's a pity the designers

had to resort to such a cheap, shabby trick to terminate the game. But thats

video for yah.  The piper must be paid at some point.  Zaxxon is a fun and

graphically exciting if sometimes confusing flying simulation.  Even though

the player is ripped-off , the pleasure overrides the pain, at least   

initially.  Tempest and Zaxxon both feature enticing 3D graphics, and

graphics are really what they're  all about.  As a game Zaxxon is an

underdeveloped blip blaster.  If that bothers you go design a game of your

own.