Subject: Under the Lynx Microscope #1

Newsgroups: rec.games.video.atari,alt.games.lynx

Summary: 

Keywords: 



           <<<< Under the Lynx Microscope >>>>



                Edition #1, Date 06/30/97



           By: Carl Forhan (forhan@millcomm.com)



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// FEATURED GAMES: Awesome Golf                       //

//                 Super Asteroids / Missile Command  //

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ULM is a periodic feature that will be posted to alt.games.lynx and

rec.games.video.atari.  The purpose is to generate some interest and

discussion around the Atari Lynx portable video game system, especially

for game titles that have been "under-exposed" on the internet.



Contact forhan@millcomm.com for information on contributing to ULM.



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| Awesome Golf               |

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I'm not even a fan of golf (watching or playing for real), yet I find that

I enjoy this HMS title.  Why?  I'm not entirely sure -- but it does

feature some nifty effects, friendly menus, and responsive controls.



There is a certain thrill, I suppose, to completing a hole-in-1 or at

least making it under par.  And there some nice touches with the different

courses, adjustable weather, etc.  All in all, a well-rounded, sit-back-

and-relax game.



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 |echie |rivia: 



Did you know that the title screen surpasses the 16 colors at one time

limit?  Just watch the scrolling/fading color bars in the background. 

It's such a soft gradient that it is obvious that the sprite palette is

being altered after each scanline. 



Has anyone ever tried this comlynxed?





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| Super Asteroids / Missile Command |

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I imagine that this title has been greatly underexposed, seeing as it was

one of Atari's last two Lynx releases back in '95 (has it really been that

long already?).  How many Lynx fans out there own this game?



Asteroids is admittedly the inferior game on the cart.  It does feature an

auto-shield, some simple thrust/fire power-ups, and cool physics (just

watch the conservation of momentum), but is lacking in the animation and

sounds effects.  Even the difficulty takes too long to ramp up -- you

start with only one Asteroid.  But, at least it's Asteroids on a portable,

and Asteroids has long been a favorite of mine.  It's easy to pick up and

play for 15 minutes.



Missile Command, OTOH, is a *great* game!  It, too, falls in the "pick up

and play" category, which I tend to prefer, but it has a lot more

animation and variety than Asteroids, and some cool explosions to boot!

Throw in an options screen every few waves to allow you to purchase new

weapons and defenses, and you've got a solid game.  (Too bad the manual

didn't explain the purchase process at all, however.)



What kind of scores have folks racked up?  I've hit close to 50,000, and

I'll tell you how I get there. :-)



5 Steps to Missile Command success:



1) Don't lose any cities before the first purchase screen.



2) Buy Cluster missiles first time around, and perhaps a star or shield

   or two for emergency usage.  Clusters are cheap but have a wide spread.



3) Don't lose any cities before the next purchase screen. :-)  (This

   shouldn't be too hard, with some practice.)



4) Buy Lasers next time around, and maybe an extra ammo or two, if you

   find yourself running low on each wave.  Lasers are fast and powerful.



5) From then on, only buy Experimentals and as much extra ammo as you can

   carry.  You're better off launching a few extra volleys, which will

   likely result in an Armageddon or Star explosion.



As long as you protect your cities and don't run out of ammo, you should

be able to persist through a good number of waves.  Eventually, they swarm

everywhere, and even the best defender can't stop them...



Other Missile Command tips:



1) Use Shields launched right underneath the "City-Stealers" to destroy

   them quickly.



2) On the higher levels, make it a habit to drop a couple of shots

   (particularly with Experimental) as you move across the screen, even if

   no foes are visible.  They appear and descend quickly, and you'll be

   glad that you had some "delayed" shots to take care of them.



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  ________________________

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|  Carl Forhan    <><   | http://www.millcomm.com/~forhan/jaguar.html

| forhan@millcomm.com   | http://www.millcomm.com/~forhan/vindicator.html

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