Random Game O' the Day: Mouse Trap

[digitalpress]

The Random Game Generator of DOOM (tm) has chosen today "Mouse Trap", that brilliant little maze game from Universal, so derivative of Pac-Man and yet so much different, really.

What are your thoughts and recollections of this game? Which home version do you like best? Are you a good player, and if so share your strategies! Where did you first see Mouse Trap and what did you think of it? Have you ever been literally driven mad by the repetitious theme music? Write your mini-review here!

DP Guide sez:

Mouse Trap (Atari 2600, by Atari) $5/R2
Based on the 1981 Exidy coin-op. Atari re-released several Coleco titles in the later stages of the VCS' life. c1981 Exidy. #CX26146.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/atari2600/mousetrap.gif

Mouse Trap (Atari 2600, by Coleco) $6/R2
Based on the 1981 Exidy coin-op. PERIODICALS: Named by Electronic Fun Magazine as one of the "50 Best Games" in March 1984. c1981 Exidy, 1982 Coleco. #2459.

Mouse Trap (ColecoVision, by Coleco) $4/R2 +
Based on the 1981 Exidy coin-op. PERIODICALS: Named by Electronic Fun Magazine as one of the "50 Best Games" in March 1984. SANTULLI SLANT: One of the better spin-offs from the Pac-Man genre of games, Mouse Trap allows the player to alter the configuration of the maze by pressing one of three colored buttons (er, just one on the 2600 stick). There's also a bad guy who's worse than the rest of the bad guys, a vulture, who is indestructible. I hate it when that happens. Very good graphics on both systems, but the music will either stick with you for years or drive you
nuts in minutes. [Gr: 9, So: 9, Ga: 8, Ov: 8] c1981 Exidy, 1982 Coleco. #2419.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/colecovision/mousetrap.gif

Mouse Trap (Intellivision, by Coleco) $6/R3
Based on the 1981 Exidy coin-op. LANDMARK: The only Coleco-made Intellivision game to use overlays. PERIODICALS: Named by Electronic Fun Magazine as one of the "50 Best Games" in March 1984. c1981 Exidy, 1982 Coleco. #412143.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/intellivision/mousetrap.gif

[IntvGene]

I remember this one well. My friend had the Colecovision version, and it looks like the best home version made. It was a fun game, but I remember its biggest fault was the difficulty. It was pretty easy, and I remember blowing through the levels without much of a challenge. But, you're right it is similar to Pac-man, but it works for some reason... I guess there was enough going on in the game to keep me interested.

[Cafeman]

This one took more invested time to get good at, compared to Pac-man, because you had three color-coded buttons to open/close each respectively colored series of doors. But it was a fresh Maze-Game update, I really wished I owned a CV back then because of MouseTrap as well as Ladybug, Mr. Do, and DK.

[Tempest]

I could never get into Mouse Trap. Maybe it was because by the time I saw it I had grown tired of Pac-Man type games. I've got to admit that the Colecovision version looks the best. What's up with the Intellivision version? It looks like someone puked...

On a side note I have a 2600 prototype labeled Mouse Attack which turned out to Mouse Trap. Very odd.

http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/mousetrap/mousetrap.htm

Tempest

[Aswald]

The ColecoVision version is a fantastic arcade-to-home translation. Unfortunately, that means that it has the one fault of the arcade version: the lack of difficulty. Because you are allowed to store and use the power-ups when YOU wish, the only real hazard is the Hawk, and that's not quite enough.

Even so, it's a good "play it from time to time" game.

[Retsudo]

DP man you are bringing back some old memories here(Good ones). I almost forgot about that game. i had it for the intellivision back in 82.

[Retsudo]

oops, double post :D

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I never really dug Mouse Trap, honestly. Like someone else has said, the Pac-Man Clone charm had worn off by that time, and adding the doors to the game was more of a nuisance to me than an innovation.

I can sit and listen to that perky music from the INTV version all night, though. LOL It's like Torgo's theme! About five minutes of that, and you're like Counselor Troi in that one Star Trek episode: "The music is in MY MIND! Make it STOP! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

[Eternal Champion]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! :-D

My parents rewarded my sister and me, after our first horrrendous swimming lesson, with a ColecoVision. One of the games was Mouse Trap. That was 20, TWENTY!!! years ago. I haven't played it in about 17 years. Sadly, at some point we just got sick of playing those games, and I didn't play anything until the NES. The ColecoVision controllers were destroyed. Years later my mom chucked everything. :( I STILL remember that crazy, spastic, hysterical second music in Mouse Trap. It made the intensity that much higher.

We loved it. Mouse Trap and LadyBug. Colecovision walked all over Atari and Pac-Man with those games. GOD I MISS THOSE DAYS!!!!!! We played it with our older sister, our inseparable older friend/neighbor, etc...what a hit!
REMEMBER THE PLASTIC DIAGRAM YOU STUCK ONTO THE KEYPAD????
Memories...

[Tritoch]

I had Mouse Trap for the 2600...easily one of my favorite games for the system and to me (since I never went to any arcades) the best game of it's kind back then.

Of course, now that I've had a chance to play the rest Pac-Man is definitely better...but still. :)

[Jorpho]

Oh yes, it was a fine Colecovision game. In some ways, it was actually a little more strategic (cerebral?) than Pac-Man - while you could trap the cats, you did so at the expense of your own mobility. The In box was kind of useless, though, since it was pretty risky going into it without consuming a dog biscuit first. And then there was the sheer variety of prizes that showed up in the maze, all entirely optional, but still an interesting challenge to collect.

Ah, memories... The only problem was that the music switched to that strange drunken panicy tune at the fifth level and never switched back.

Were there more cats in the Intellivision version? The screenshots seem to show as much.
________
Washington Medical Marijuana Dispensaries (http://washington.dispensaries.org/)

[punkoffgirl]

Colecovision Mousetrap is far better.
This was the FIRST game I ever saw on the CV.. My family had the 2600, my best friend's family had the CV. I was blown away by the game, and those awesome overlays for the keypad. I remember having dreams about the dog bones and the "ruff ruff" and the cats.. I don't think we ever played it on a hard enough level for the vulture to appear, because I don't remember him from childhood at all.

[wberdan]

oh.... sweet, sweet mouse trap....

i love the game for the colecovision.. the atari version doesnt hold my attention... and, like all intelligent people i burned my intellivision a long, long time ago.

ill play anyone here a game of colecovision mousetrap on difficulty 4 for a case of beer!

willie