Crackpots
| Crackpots | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Activision, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Activision, Inc. |
| Designer(s) | Dan Kitchen[1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release date(s) | May 16, 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Fixed Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Crackpots is an Atari 2600 game designed by Dan Kitchen and published by Activision in 1983. Kitchen later did a number of ports to the 2600, including the arcade games Kung Fu Master and Double Dragon.[1]
In Crackpots, the player controls Potsy, a gardener. Potsy's Brooklyn building is being overrun by spiders trying to climb inside six different windows. The player moves Potsy back and forth along the roof to drop pots on the spiders before they get close enough to enter the windows.
Gameplay
Each level consists of four waves of twelve bugs each; defeat all four waves and the player will move on to a faster-paced level. Play then resumes until the building crumbles to the ground. Whenever the player allows six spiders to enter the windows, one of the building's six layers will disappear and they'll begin the next wave closer to the ground.
The types of spiders enter the walls in different patterns. Black spiders will move straight up the building, blue spiders wiggle from left to right, red spiders move diagonally, and green spiders zig-zag between windows.
Re-releases
Crackpots was later included in compilation packages including Activision Classics (1998) for the PlayStation and the Activision Anthology (2002) for the PlayStation 2.[2][3]
Crackpots was made available on Microsoft's Game Room service for its Xbox 360 console and for Windows-based PCs in June 2010.
References
- 1 2 "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- ↑ Harris, Craig (September 29, 1998). "Activision Classics". IGN. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
- ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (November 21, 2002). "Activision Anthology". IGN. Retrieved August 19, 2013.