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[NOW YOU'RE PLAYING WITH POWER]
=>AMIGA =>ATARI
=>COMMODORE =>NINTENDO
=>PLAYSTATION =>SEGA
=>SNK =>TURBO =>XBOX |
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FROSTBITE
BY: STEVE CARTWRIGHT
PUBLISHED BY: ACTIVISION
RELEASED: 1983 |
::RATING::
Graphics: 5
Sound: 5
Control: 5
Depth: 5
Overall: 5 |
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One of my favorites. Its very slight similarity to Q-Bert
is immaterial; this is yet another addictive, perfectly
balanced Activision contest and it really gets fun once
you've become confident enough to jump from floe to floe
very quickly, turning ostensibly strategy-requisite screens
into manic reflex rushes.
What it also has in common with all other good Activision
games is that it includes a brilliant little defensive
twist: You can reverse the direction in which the current
row of ice floats by subtracting one block from the igloo
you're trying to build. Subtle enough not to indicate
overuse but effective enough to occasionally save your
chilled skin, this extra's typical of the software group
and enhances a game that readily illustrates why their
titles are considered among the best of the era. And just
as you're getting into the groove, that damn bear shows
up to keep things from getting too easy. Such gradual
introductions of new elements remarkably affect theoretically
simple games; the necessitated change in player approach
is as clever yet initially underestimated as an intriguing
chord-change in a song. No wonder Jim Levy promoted his
team as if they were rock stars.
This was a victorious farewell to the 2600 from Steve
Cartwright, who rectified the disappointment of his preceding
game, Plaque Attack, by delivering the sort of
excellence he'd once been known for due to things like
Seaquest. Most gamers assume that Frostbite
wasn't as popular as others because it was released after
the market crashed. This isn't the case. What actually
happened was that nobody could talk about it, much less
praise it, because of the name. The conversations were
always too confusing: "Do you have Frostbite?"
"No, I'm fine!" "What I meant was...oh, never mind. Let's
play Pitfall! again."
-Chris Federico
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2010 ben langberg, all rights reserved.