Monday MAME Club [12/27/04] - Ataxx

[Flack]

Welcome to this week's Monday Morning MAME Club Posting. Every Monday, a member of the MAME club will pick a new game for you to play in MAME! All you have to do to participate is install MAME, download the ROM of the week from this message, and then post your thoughts about the game! You can post a full review of the game or simply tell us what you liked/didn't like about the game. Have you played this game before? Have you played it in an actual arcade? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game! Just remember, if you want people to respond during YOUR week, you should play along on OTHER weeks!

The ROM of the week is: Ataxx (available HERE!)



Ataxx is a great game which involves a lot of strategy and thinking ahead. The original version in the arcade used a trackball, although there is also a joystick version available for download as well.

Club Members:

digitalpress (Battle Bakraid)
Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu, Liquid Kids, Ninja Clowns)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berkerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
ghsqb (N/A)
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600 (City Bomber)
Ze_ro (Pandora's Palace)
slip81 (Biomechanical Toy)
Qbert (Mysterious Stones)
k8track (Go! Go! Mile Smile)
Hamsnibit (N/A)
Lady Jaye (Chuka Taisen/Cloud Master)
Sofa King Gud (Crossbow)
Schenley (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Kaine23 (Super Burgertime)
Arqueologia_Digital (Burgertime)
Jiscan (Withdrew)
-hellvin- (Splatterhouse)
Acidic_Pain (Armed Police Batrider)
Gamemaster_ca_2003 (Block Out)
Vigilante (Pu-Li-Ru-La)
Hovoc (D&D: Shadow Over Mystara)
Mr.FoodMonster (skipped)
sniperCCJVQ (WWF Superstars)
A Boy (Satan's Hollow)
JibbaJaba (Solomon's Key)
Cauterize (The Simpsons)
youruglyclone (Vendetta)
Ed Oscuro (Alligator Hunt)
Gapporin (Daisu-Kiss)
!!! Graham Mitchell (Ataxx) !!!
RockyRaccoon
XxMe2NiKxX
brykasch
Xtasy
DJ_DEEM
The_EniGma
DaBargainHunta
cr0n0
Promophile
Cirrus

Remember, you don't have to be a member of the club to download the game and write up a review, but by joining you get the honor of picking a game to share with the group during your week. If you would like to join, simply send me a PM and I will add you to the list!

MAME ON!

[Sotenga]

If I had to choose one game genre that I can safely say I absolutely suck at, strategy would be the top contender. I'm just no good at Ataxx, mainly due to the computer's undefeatable brain. However, had I more human opponents to go up against, I would more than likely find more enjoyment to this game than I do now, though that enjoyment would be a fraction of the lust I get over Contra. Strategy just isn't my avenue. Not to say that I hate it, but I'm much more comfortable in the center of a mob of bloodthirsty aliens than I am with an overheated brain. I'm probably not being very fair on Ataxx here, but games like these that require much patience and thinking don't often pique my interest. Games require some degree of intelligence to operate, and if the balance between skill and strategy tips too far towards the latter, I could definitely take it or leave it. However, I can't deny Ataxx's extremely creepy atmosphere... really creepy, as a matter of fact. That Drool Man just gives me the willie-jeebies.

It is certainly not a bad game by any means, just not one that I find terribly interesting. If you need a break from intense action, sit down and see if Ataxx will calm your nerves. If you liked this, try Spot for the NES, which is essentially the same game, but themed around the 7UP mascot. Seriously.

By the way, I must be extraordinarily bored to notice and decry this typo, but Flack, you spelled "Berzerk" as "Berkerk" next to Chadtower.

[Gapporin]

I love Ataxx. The puzzle genre is one of my favorites, and a good puzzle game can keep me entertained. I actually played a freeware variant of this game on the PC before I knew about this version, and was surprised to know that it originally came out in the arcade. The closest game I could compare Ataxx to is Othello, but Ataxx has it own set of rules, and is played quite differently than Othello is.

I'll also second Sotenga's thoughts about the atmosphere. This game is flat out creepy.

If I had one quibble about this game, it would be that the CPU can be pretty hard on someone who just picked up the game. But keep playing, because once you get the hang of it, I think you'll find that there's an excellent puzzle game underneath.

[Aswald]

This was one of the very few 1990s arcade games that I liked, in spite of the eerie graphics- but the sound was great.

In fact, I liked it well enough to eventually purchase the CV version- Reversi by newcoleco.

[Jred]

Ah the one game that pulled me away from beat em' ups in my local arcade. I used to play this game for hours (on many quarters.. just because I loved it, didn't mean I was any good at it) when I was younger. It only stayed in our arcade about 2 months before it was pulled. Apparently I was the only one playing it.

Like the above poster said, it's basically same gameplay as Spot on nes. Although I had more fun with this than spot due to it's atmosphere and theme. As much fun as it was watching spot polevault to the next square.. Alien blobs of slime devouring each other was just way cooler to a teen kid. Played the rom as soon as I got Mame going and must say the game is still a ton of fun (and I still suck at it). Everyone should give it a try. I knew a lot of people who hated puzzlers that loved Spot. Might work the same here.

[Graham Mitchell]

Yes, Attax is VERY creepy, and that's one of the reasons I picked it.

Attax has been the source of many nightmares for me since it first came out. The audio and visuals are so good at conveying tension that I sometimes get a little overwhelmed...Gorgon's got those "MCP"-like diamond pupils that just creep me out. And when she shrieks at you it's rather startling.

But aside from the exceptionally creepy atmosphere, Attax is a real solid game with a rather interesting history that I read in an article at some point.

Apparently, Attax was the brainchild of two programmers in Europe, I think, who wanted to design a board game that would work better on a computer or video game than using a physical board. They spent many nights perfecting the game, and programmed it on the Amiga. The title, called "Infection", was purchased by an educational software company, which I think was called Wise Owl. The said company eventually dissolved without ever publishing the game, so the rights went on sale again. This time, Virgin picked up the home rights, which, as Sotenga pointed out, resulted in the NES version of SPOT, and also the infamous microscope puzzle in the 7th Guest. Leland bought the coin-op rights and, in my opinion, made the difinitive version. In addition to the striking presentation, the game saved your status via your name and birthdate, just like Super Off-Road, so you could walk up to the machine at any time and continue where you left off.

Attax is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played. Even if you're not into the gameplay as much, it's tough not to really appreciate the grotesquely sylized presentation, and the music is just as intense. Attax was never very popular among my friends because the arcades were ruled by fighting games at that time, and RPG's were king at home, so there wasn't much room for a quirky game like Attax. But I'm hoping that it'll win a few more fans in this, more open-minded forum. Enjoy!

(for those having trouble: use save states and learn how the computer reacts to your moves; every enemy's got a predictable algorithm. Cephalo Man will take FOREVER to learn, but hopefully you'll have some fun in the process.)

[scooterb23]

I love Attax, I used to play it all the time in between leagues at the bowling alley. I was also really good at the game, keeping the #1 spot on the rankings for almost the entire year it was at our bowling alley.

I don't think I ever beat Cephalo Man though...maybe now

[Cirrus]

This one was a bit difficult to get into without a trackball. Is there a way to slow down the movement of the cursor a bit for keyboard use? Anyway, I still managed just fine. The game itself was fun, but the surroundings were rather strange. Droolman, for instance! I also thought that it was fun that you could put in your initials, and birthdate and keep your record on a machine. I'll admit that I played my own version of the ROM, so maybe everyone else didn't get this. I know they don't use the initials on the Japanese ROM.

Yes, this game was just like "Spot" for the Gameboy. I didn't know it was ever on the NES. This was a good pick.

[Graham Mitchell]

This one was a bit difficult to get into without a trackball. Is there a way to slow down the movement of the cursor a bit for keyboard use? Anyway, I still managed just fine. The game itself was fun, but the surroundings were rather strange. Droolman, for instance! I also thought that it was fun that you could put in your initials, and birthdate and keep your record on a machine. I'll admit that I played my own version of the ROM, so maybe everyone else didn't get this. I know they don't use the initials on the Japanese ROM.

Yes, this game was just like "Spot" for the Gameboy. I didn't know it was ever on the NES. This was a good pick.

In the rom I've got, you can just start up mame with the mouse enabled and it emulates the trackball just fine. It's pretty much the ideal way to play it.

[Flack]

I hope more people played this than posted, as Ataxx is definitely a classic. The first time I saw Ataxx was outside a Wal-Mart, and I was instantly hooked. I had never played 7-Up Spot before, so the game play style was new to me. Like others have mentioned, I remember the graphics of the monsters (especially the big slime guy) creeped me out, especially his slow, painful moan. Great sound and great graphics really set the atmosphere for this game.

I'm pretty sure one of the ROMs for Ataxx is hacked to make the controls easier to use with joysticks. I know I've seen Ataxx in the arcade with joysticks instead of trackballs, and it counldn't have been this hard to control.

Great pick this week!

[Graham Mitchell]

I'm pretty sure one of the ROMs for Ataxx is hacked to make the controls easier to use with joysticks. I know I've seen Ataxx in the arcade with joysticks instead of trackballs, and it counldn't have been this hard to control.

I've seen two versions of Attax in the wild.

There's a dedicated cab of Attax that had the trackballs (and some really awesome art; there's a big bloody splat around the trackballs). The only place I ever saw this was at Disneyland (which used to have the best arcades I've ever seen.)

Every other version I've seen was a JAMMA conversion kit (which I guess requires some kind of adapter to put the board into a JAMMA compatible machine...? Don't ask; I don't really know what I'm talking about). I think that might be the "Attax Set 2" I keep seeing on websites. I've even seen a tabletop/cocktail version at Gameworks in Seattle several years ago. This version used the joysticks, and the cursor moved much slower than on the current ROM I've got.

BTW--glad people are enjoying this! It's one of my all time faves!