Frankenstein's Monster (Atari 2600)
| Frankenstein's Monster | |
|---|---|
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| Publisher(s) | Data Age |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release date(s) | 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
Frankenstein's Monster is a platform game developed for the Atari 2600 video game console, based on Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. It was released by third-party developer Data Age in 1983.[1]
Plot
According to the game's manual, the player character has to "make his way through the ghoulish castle of Dr. Frankenstein," where he "must prevent him from completing his creation." Furthermore, the manual explains that the player must "gather stones from the dungeon and bring them to the tower where [he] must build a barricade around Frankenstein's monster before he has accumulated enough energy to come alive," which he does using the so-called "Power Probe," a device absorbing energy from an electrical storm.[2]
Gameplay
The player must attempt to stop Frankenstein's monster from coming to life, by building walls around the monster. To do this, the player must retrieve bricks by crossing pits of acid and other obstacles. To fully imprison the monster (and thus, win the game), the player has to make a total of six trips to the lower part of the screen. With each successful trip, more obstacles are placed before the player, making the game more challenging. Contact with spiders and bats deducts points from the player's score, rather than health. When the timer runs out or the player loses three lives, the monster breaks free and will walk towards the screen, becoming larger using a scaling effect, eventually taking up the entire screen.[3]
In multiplayer, the two players take turns and each player has their own unique timer. When one player falls into the acid pit, her timer pauses until it's her turn again and the other player's turn begins. This continues until one player loses three lives, at which point the game will be over.[2]
Reception
The game was one of less than a dozen Atari 2600 games released by Data Age, and is listed in the AtariAge rarity guide as the most rare.[4] The Video Game Critic and The A.V. Club have cited the game as one of the highlights of the platform.[5] The Video Game Critic graded the game a "B−", praising the game's sophisticated gameplay while noting its similarity to the Activision game Pitfall!.[3] About Tech praised the use of "familiar" elements from Pitfall! as well as the "funny interpretation of the Frankenstein novel," and only criticized the game for its short length, stating that "it's refreshing to see at least one good game based on the classic monster."[6]
References
- ↑ Yarusso, Albert. "Atari 2600 - Frankenstein's Monster (Data Age)". AtariAge. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- 1 2 "Frankenstein's Monster (Instructions)". Atarimania. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- 1 2 "Atari 2600 Reviews F-F: Frankenstein's Monster". The Video Game Critic. October 27, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- ↑ Yarusso, Albert. "Companies - Data Age". AtariAge. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- ↑ Agnello, Anthony John (November 19, 2013). "Back from the dead: 9 modern games for obsolete consoles". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ↑ D.S. Cohen. "Frankenstein's Monster - Atari 2600 Game Review". about tech. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
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