Retro Video Gamer

Welcome to Retro Video Gamer => Retro News & Chat => Topic started by: TL on November 03, 2012, 14:14:24 PM

Title: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on November 03, 2012, 14:14:24 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPOlCkg2X7U
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on November 03, 2012, 15:37:26 PM
Nice set of comparisons.  This is another fun game.  I suppose we could add a video of Space Patrol for the INTV.  :)
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: zapiy on November 03, 2012, 17:20:00 PM
Amazing how many versions there are to be honest.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on November 03, 2012, 17:29:25 PM
And here is Space Patrol for Intellivision!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nqEi_IATWI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nqEi_IATWI)
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on November 03, 2012, 17:32:13 PM
I think I am most impressed by that excellent ColecoVision version!  :o

That Spectrum version is downright terrible though  >:(
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: Rogue Trooper on November 15, 2012, 00:24:54 AM
Only ever played the 2600 version and that was many, many years ago.Used to love it, but i could have sworn game had music...vids here just have s.fx.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on November 15, 2012, 17:06:35 PM
Quote from: "Rogue Trooper"Only ever played the 2600 version and that was many, many years ago.Used to love it, but i could have sworn game had music...vids here just have s.fx.

Some of those versions do have music, 5200 for a start
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: Rogue Trooper on April 01, 2013, 20:54:34 PM
As part of the Spy Hunter/Moon Patrol GBC review from Arcade mag (2/5)

'this game won't interest anyone other than video game historians' (and the call the cart a 'double-dissapointment'

Ouch!
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: onthinice on April 02, 2013, 01:52:02 AM
Is Moon Patrol on the Pal release Midway Arcade Hits II for the DreamCast?
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: sloan on April 06, 2013, 04:29:24 AM
Being a collector of so many systems, I have learned to appreciate the different flavors of games on different consoles. The intriguing thing to me with the comparison video is the ability to do parallax scrolling by some of the earliest systems. Even the VCS seems capable of some pseudo-parallax.

The MSX version strikes me as the most visually pleasing, and the Spectrum variant is certainly high contrast with the bright colour pallet.

Also of note: I think I read once that the Intellivision was derived from the Spectrum, and the colour pallets are definitely similar between those two.

I recently picked up Space Patrol for INTV and cannot say enough good things about that version of the game.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on April 06, 2013, 10:22:49 AM
Quote from: "sloan"Also of note: I think I read once that the Intellivision was derived from the Spectrum, and the colour pallets are definitely similar between those two.

The Spectrum came out several years after the Intellivision and has very different architecture so I think you might be getting mixed up.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: davyk on April 06, 2013, 14:50:10 PM
Love Moon Patrol - I could do the beginner course and get half-way through the champ course on 1 credit in the arcade.

Have never played a console version
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on April 06, 2013, 16:32:09 PM
You should try some of these home versions, dav.  The 5200 version is very good and Space Patrol on the Intellivision is also very well done.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on April 06, 2013, 20:09:56 PM
Interestingly this game was originally due to be a release game for the Atari 7800 and was reportedly finished. Nobody really knows why it wasn't released, I read somewhere that Atari apparently didn't know how to market it. But I would say that is very doubtful given that the Tramiels didn't market anything! I would say that it's more likely that the license ran out and Atari didn't want to renew it. Shame because it probably would have been the definitive version.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on April 07, 2013, 01:28:48 AM
Wow, that would have been a fantastic version on the 7800.  Too bad it didn't happen!
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: Havantgottaclue on April 07, 2013, 10:20:55 AM
Long before I played the original Moon Patrol, I played a clone which came out early in the life of the C64 called Moon Buggy. It played quite well actually, and for a 1983 C64 game it doesn't actually look too bad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiY4XvklFC0

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk HD

EDIT: Fixed as embedding didn't work from this ^
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: Rogue Trooper on April 07, 2013, 10:51:17 AM
If we're talking clones....


Jeep Command on C64:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dTsNj-TiI0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dTsNj-TiI0)



Fantastic music too boot......
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: Havantgottaclue on April 07, 2013, 11:26:12 AM
Oh yeah, that was a top little game!
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: davyk on April 07, 2013, 20:07:53 PM
Quote from: "The Laird"Interestingly this game was originally due to be a release game for the Atari 7800 and was reportedly finished. Nobody really knows why it wasn't released, I read somewhere that Atari apparently didn't know how to market it. But I would say that is very doubtful given that the Tramiels didn't market anything! I would say that it's more likely that the license ran out and Atari didn't want to renew it. Shame because it probably would have been the definitive version.


Sadly I shudder to think what the great music would have been like on the 7800 sans POKEY..
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on April 07, 2013, 20:12:24 PM
Exactly the same as the 2600 version!
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: sloan on April 07, 2013, 21:22:33 PM
Quote from: "Havantgottaclue"Long before I played the original Moon Patrol, I played a clone which came out early in the life of the C64 called Moon Buggy. It played quite well actually, and for a 1983 C64 game it doesn't actually look too bad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiY4XvklFC0 (//http)

As sue-happy as Atari was back then, how did Commodore not see any legal action on this one?
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on April 07, 2013, 21:59:45 PM
Moon Patrol was by Williams  :3:
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: sloan on April 07, 2013, 22:02:33 PM
Phoenix was by someone else as well, b ut it didn't stop Atari from suing Imagic over Demon Attack.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: Havantgottaclue on April 07, 2013, 22:05:43 PM
Quote from: "sloan"As sue-happy as Atari was back then, how did Commodore not see any legal action on this one?

Furthermore, Commodore did not publish Moon Buggy.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: sloan on April 07, 2013, 22:13:32 PM
Ok, let me rephrase my post a few back:

Atari was known to be sue happy at the time.

They sued Imagic over the similarity between Demon Attack and Phoenix, even though Phoenix was licensed from Amstar/Centuri.

Moon Buggy for C64 was apparently published by a company called Anirog Software.

What stopped Atari from going after Anirog when they went after Imagic over similarities between a licensed game on the VCS console and a Imagic release?
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on April 07, 2013, 22:20:44 PM
Quote from: "sloan"Ok, let me rephrase my post a few back:

Atari was known to be sue happy at the time.

They sued Imagic over the similarity between Demon Attack and Phoenix, even though Phoenix was licensed from Amstar/Centuri.

Moon Buggy for C64 was apparently published by a company called Anirog Software.

What stopped Atari from going after Anirog when they went after Imagic over similarities between a licensed game on the VCS console and a Imagic release?

Because like with Pac-Man, Atari bought the complete rights for the game on all home formats rather than just licensing it for a specific platform.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: onthinice on April 07, 2013, 22:29:47 PM
I always wondered that about Space Invaders. It was Space Invaders on Atari consoles but always named something different on other consoles.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on April 08, 2013, 13:16:17 PM
Quote from: "onthinice"I always wondered that about Space Invaders. It was Space Invaders on Atari consoles but always named something different on other consoles.

Because the other versions were not official ;)
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: onthinice on April 08, 2013, 17:22:56 PM
Any idea why Atari or Taito never took legal action?
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TL on April 08, 2013, 17:26:08 PM
Quote from: "onthinice"Any idea why Atari or Taito never took legal action?

Most of the clones were made by small companies so maybe they thought it wasn't worth the trouble. Going to court is expensive and they wouldn't get much out of a tiny software house.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: onthinice on April 08, 2013, 17:28:44 PM
That makes sense. I wish Nintendo followed that rule.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on October 04, 2013, 23:20:13 PM
The video comparison has been updated!  Here is the new version for your enjoyment!

https://youtu.be/XHFeJOlSdLc
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: sloan on October 05, 2013, 02:56:35 AM
Moon Patrol is a game that should have seen an update on Jaguar, much like Tempest and Breakout. Would have been great on the Jag.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: onthinice on October 05, 2013, 02:58:34 AM
:113: Now your talking!
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on October 05, 2013, 04:59:47 AM
Quote from: "sloan"Moon Patrol is a game that should have seen an update on Jaguar, much like Tempest and Breakout. Would have been great on the Jag.

Yes, it would have indeed been cool to see an update for the Jaguar.  Moon Patrol 2000! 
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: DZ-Jay on October 05, 2013, 12:42:00 PM
I just caught up with this thread, and watched the video.

My vote goes to the Commodore 64, followed by the Atari VCS.

The ColecoVision could have done better, it looks and sounds good; but the gameplay is slow, which makes it lose some of that high-energy arcade feel.  You also can tell that the game engine slows down as the screen fills up with baddies--even the music slows down! (And the flicker! Oh, the flicker!)

The Atari VCS, strange enough, manages to retain all the fast-pace and frantic excitement of the arcade, even with the cheesiest graphics.  I can imagine 8 year-old me playing it back in the day, and it would have made me feel completely satisfied in the port, and the envy of others.  (For the record, I never had a VCS, which colours my perception of it, but some games really impressed me very much.  This would have been one of them.)

The Apple ][ looks pretty good, but it is much too flickery and a bit slow paced.

Some of the others were so lethargic, or had sounds so annoying, that I think I would have thrown the joystick at the TV after playing it for just a couple of minutes.

One thing I missed in the video was the Intellivision version.  Of course, there was never an official one, but Space Patrol replicates much of the elements of the original arcade, including the high-speed frantic action, music, and smooth parallax scrolling.

Good efforts all around! :)

    dZ.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: DZ-Jay on October 05, 2013, 12:56:40 PM
Doh! I just saw that Space Patrol was indeed posted.  That's what I get for replying without reading the full thread, sorry.
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: DZ-Jay on October 05, 2013, 13:00:44 PM
Quote from: "The Laird"
Quote from: "sloan"Also of note: I think I read once that the Intellivision was derived from the Spectrum, and the colour pallets are definitely similar between those two.

The Spectrum came out several years after the Intellivision and has very different architecture so I think you might be getting mixed up.

In fact, the Intellivision's microprocessor (a true 16-bit CPU!) was based on the PDP-11 architecture.  Just a bit of random trivia. :)
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on October 05, 2013, 14:00:51 PM
Quote from: "DZ-Jay"Doh! I just saw that Space Patrol was indeed posted.  That's what I get for replying without reading the full thread, sorry.
Yes, Space Patrol was added on the updated video.  It is a superb version also!  Insofar as the ColecoVision version...Opcode games is looking to remedy the issues with it by creating a Super Game Module version of the game.  :)
Title: Re: Lets Compare: Moon Patrol
Post by: TrekMD on January 06, 2019, 02:11:30 AM
Here is a new video comparing various ports of Moon Patrol...

https://youtu.be/KRCGsmV7LmA