My latest The Games of our Lives is up. This week’s game is Midnight Magic on the Atari 2600:
Your dominance at the arcade is unequaled. When you walk through the doors, Sinistar’s hunger is mysteriously sated, the robots in Berzerk fall silent, and even the feared Wizard Of Wor dares not laugh at you. Your initials, “XTC,” sit atop virtually every high-score list in the building. The other kids bring you waffle cones while you play Galaga, just to stand near you. You are a god, with one small but significant exception: pinball. And there’s another problem: That guy who hangs around the high school even though he graduated five years ago is a pinball master. Though there are only three pinball machines in the entire arcade, you can’t touch him, and he knows it.
He may have a conversion van and a sweet mustache, but he doesn’t have Atari, and he doesn’t have Midnight Magic. Lock your bedroom door, crank up some Journey, and start practicing to kick his ass.
In this week’s issue, there’s also a really cool spin on the always-hilarious Commentary Tracks of the Dammmed: Commentary Tracks of the Blessed. Checkitoutcheckitoutcheckitout.
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We all know why you liked the latter one. Poker scenes in Rounders. . . .
I have GOT to learn how to play poker.
Broderbund was responsible for this??? After all the great educational software they’ve put out (I used to be a teacher), I’m kind of disappointed.
On the other hand, thanks to your article, I now have this playing in my head…
“He’s a pinball wizard
There’s got to be a twist
A pinball wizard
He’s got such a supple wrist”
commentary tracks of the blessed was great, but I can’t believe they didn’t pick Jack Black’s Opus “School of Rock” – millions agree the commentary track is as funny as the film itself (well maybe not millions, but most of the voices in my head anyway…)
You’ve been reviewing games recently that I have never heard of. Still they remain very funny. Do you take requests? Do you remember those contest games where you could win a sword that atari released? There were four of them, one of earth, air, water, and fire.
How about “Adventure”?
🙂
Midnight Magic: How I remember it from the Apple //c. I preferred Bill Budge’s Pinball Contruction Set from EA. You could make the easiest game ever, one that would practically play itself over and over until it burned the latent image of it’s frame into your green-and-black 9 inch monitor.
Your reviews kick ass: Craptastic old games of the past do not improve simply by virtue of being old, just as craptastic new games aren’t improved because they’re new. Not may people get it.
You do though, and I appreciate the hell out of it.