Atari 2600 #10: Entombed

Developer: Western Technologies

Publisher: U.S. Games

Release Date: March 1983

I know it sounds cheap, but that's more like $12 in todays money. Okay so that's still kind of cheap

 

Last time I talked about the first release by U.S. Games and this time around I am talking about one of the last. Entombed is a game that I happen to like quite a bit even though some reviewers strongly disagree with me. At the very least I think it’s a well executed idea even if it is quite simple and too difficult to make much progress. It’s also known for the mysterious maze-generating code that has baffled many programmers over the years. Supposedly it shouldn’t be able to generate as many mazes as it does and nobody is sure how the programmer was able to do it. It’s a fun bit of Atari lore, and it’s nice that it keeps Entombed in the conversation. I do think the game itself deserves a little better than just being a trivia question though.

Mazes, monsters, and powerups. This has it all

In a way Entombed is a precursor to the endless runner genre popularized on smartphones. It puts your character into a series of randomly generated vertical-scrolling mazes, and you have to survive for as long as you can. It’s interesting that a game consists of several mazes instead of just one long maze. Each one gets faster too so it gets very hard very quick. There are even monsters roaming around to make things more frantic. There are powerups which allow you to break through walls, so much of the early part of the game is spent finding ways to collect them. Each powerup gives you three shots, so building them up is a must. It’s another fun “less is more” game from U.S. Games that takes a very simple concept and makes it fresh and interesting. There were countless maze games released in the wake of Pac-Man, but none of them were as maze focused as Entombed. It takes out the dots and power pellets and makes scoring completely about surviving.  

 

The frantic pace of it, however, is probably the game’s biggest flaw. I always think I am going to get better, but I always end up scoring about thirty points. The record is a little over 300, so I know it is possible to do much better even if I never can. However, it’s one of those games where I always think I am going to do better and never mind trying. It’s not one of those games where I reach my ceiling in five minutes and never want to play again. I always enjoy playing it to see what the next wave is going to be like. Replay value is extremely important for Atari games, and this one has it. I should play it again to try to break 40.

 

So Entombed is a decent forgotten title on the 2600. It belongs in the green section even if the difficulty and simplicity keep it from rising too high on the list. I am putting it one above Red Sea Crossing. Good is still good though so it’s worth checking out if you feel like playing something a little more obscure on your Atari. I have a feeling that U.S. Games might turn out to be more good than bad.

 

Atari 2600 quality percentage: 5/10 or 50%

1.  Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

2. Super Mario Odyssey

3. The Legend of Zelda

4. Galaga

5. Donkey Kong

6. Exodus: Ultima III

7. Pac-Mania

8. Wrecking Crew

9. Super Pac-Man

10. Pac-Man

11. Viva Pinata

12. Dragon View

13. Excitebike

14. Drakkhen

15. Todd’s Adventures in Slime World

16. Arc the Lad

17. Clu Clu Land

18. Tails’ Adventures

19. Scrapyard Dog (Lynx)

20. Artifact Adventure Gaiden DX

21. Mickey’s Racing Adventure

22. Metro-Cross

23. Double Dragon

24. Panic Restaurant

25. Felix the Cat

26. Adventure

27. Ice Climber

28. Gaplus

29. Dragon Spirit

30. Pinball (NES)

31. Ninja Golf

32. Fast Eddie

33. Super Soccer

34. Gopher

35. Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour (GBC)

36. Entombed

37. Red Sea Crossing

38. Baraduke

39. Demon’s Crest

40. Evoland

41. Tennis

42. Renegade

43. Beethoven

44. Hogan’s Alley

45. Gamma-Attack

46. The Legend of “Valkyrie”

47. Galaxian

48. Dragon Crystal

49. Cosmic Commuter

50. Hot Pixel

51. PocketBike Racer

52. Wild Gunman

53. Defunct

54. Gyruss (2600)

55. Looney Tunes Racing

56. Squidlit

57. Gordo 106

58. Baseball

59. Space Jockey

60. Home Alone

61. Birthday Mania

62. Bad Street Brawler

63. Burly Men at Sea

64. Wayne’s World

65. WeakWood Throne

66. X-Men (HyperScan)

67. My Name is Mayo

68. Marvel Heroes

69. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends

70. Ben 10