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HomeBrew Reviews: Oystron (Atari 2600)
Peter G, from Video Game Trader Magazine: Issue #3 (VideoGameTrader.com)
Designed by Piero Cavina (of Xype)
Distributed by Atari Age
If you’re one of those people who collects alternative labels and such on games, don’t bother with this one. The label has had so many permutations, you’ll go nuts.
Inspiration comes in the strangest ways. Sometimes it’s looking at something and thinking, “I can do that.” Other times, it’s just looking at something and seeing relations that prompt a game, like how the guys at GameLab came up with Diner Dash! And some games come about from a simple experimental demo that makes the designer go, “Hey, wait!” Pitfall! and Fathom for the Atari 2600 supposedly were inspired by the sprite animations the creators came up with.
Oystron has a similar origin. It originally started off as a demo for the homebrew crowd to demonstrate how to put multiple objects on the screen at once. From there, a few things were changed here and there, and soon, a full blown game sprung out of it. It was part of the first wave of Atari 2600 homebrewing and has been a mainstay since. Some games simply vanish beneath the waves after a while, but this one hasn’t, and for good reason.
The game is a single-board shooter. You control a ship that cruises around the playfield, shooting at a never-ending stream of enemies. The key ones are space oysters, grayish-blue orbs that, once finally destroyed, release a space pearl. You grab the pearl and head to the left half of the screen, where you store your pearls. Complete a row of eight pearls (not a column, I made that mistake the first time I played this) and you get a bomb for later use. A timeline at the bottom of the screen creeps along and, once full, an Oystron appears. It is coming after you, and can only be destroyed by the bombs. So you have to plant one and lead the Oystron into running into it.
This is no simple task. The game boasts an impressive array of enemies. The oysters not only travel at various speeds, but they take a random number of shots before they crack and give up the pearls. It is very easy to find yourself pinned against the far wall, shooting like mad at an oyster that just won’t drop and unsure if you should move out of the way and into the path of others or just keep firing. There are also other ships out to reduce your pearl supply, from missiles that just blow them up to ships with front shielding that you can only shoot from behind. It’s like a cliffhanger movie serial, with no-stop action and close calls.
Thankfully, Oystron has some of the tightest controls on any platform. Your ship skates around the screen but the crispness enables you to recover if you overcompensate. The control scheme is also simple – the bombs for the Oystrons can’t be deployed until the Oystron appears, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally releasing your stock before you’re ready.
This game is a great way to kill an hour or two with your 2600. The action is fast without being confusing and all the elements work well together. There are moments where holding your fire is better than blasting away. You don’t passive mash the fire button with this, and the result is a game that would be a classic on the system had it been released during its heyday.
Available for $20 at www.AtariAge.com
About the Author
Video Game Trader (www.VideoGameTrader.com) is a quarterly print magazine devoted to classic and orphaned video games, and the systems that play then. Each issue of VGTrader contains reviews, retrospectives, interviews, features, articles and more on your favorite games of yesterday. Each issue also contains the Video Game Trader Price Guide. This guide contains over 7000 prices for games and consoles from the Atari 2600 to the Sony Playstation.
50 Atari Jaguar Games
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BRAND NEW SEALED ATARI ST Omnitrend’s Paladin The Scrolls Of Talmouth Quest Disk $6,999.95 |
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WARLORDS COCKTAIL GAME ~ RARE ORIGINAL HUO ATARI ~ $199 SHIPPING $2,995.00 |
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre Atari 2600 Alternate version video game rights TCM rare $2,500.00 |
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WAYNE GRETSKY’S 3D HOCKEY ARCADE VIDEO GAME BY ATARI ~ 4 PLAYER ~ $199 SHIPPING $1,995.00 |
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Atari Vapor TRX Arcade Racing Sit Down Video Game Fun-Used $895.00 |
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RUSH THE ROCK ALCATRAZ EDITION SIT DOWN ARCADE VIDEO GAME BY ATARI $1,800.00 |
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Atari Crystal Castle Stand Up Video Game $795.00 |
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SPACE DUEL COCKTAIL GAME ~ MINTY CONDITION ~ RARE ORIGINAL ATARI ~ $199 SHIPPING $1,500.00 |
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Huge lot of 40 + systems 400 + games SNES NES Atari etc $1,500.00 |
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720 Arcade Video Game by Atari $1,400.00 |
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Original 1979 Atari Asteroids Video Arcade Game $1,350.00 |
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San Francisco Rush 2049 upright arcade driver Midway Atari real nice game $1,295.00 |
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Full Size Atari’s Centipede Arcade Game – Nice condition, plays great! Classic! $999.00 |
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Atari KANGAROO full size CLASSIC Arcade Video Game-NICE $979.00 |
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ASTEROIDS COCKTAIL ARCADE VIDEO GAME by ATARI $1,225.00 |
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atari hydra boat driveing game all working $899.00 |
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FINAL LAP BY ATARI USED COIN OP SIT DOWN ARCADE GAME $1,100.00 |
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Original 1981 Atari Centipede Video Arcade Game $1,100.00 |
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MISSILE COMMAND ARCADE VIDEO GAME CABARET ~ ATARI CLASSIC ~ MINTY CONDITION $895.00 |
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BattleSphere Gold for Atari Jaguar (Factory Sealed) $1,077.00 |
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Atari HOOP IT UP 2 player basketball Arcade Video Game $799.00 |
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ATARI 2600 GAME CARTRIDGE CASINO $1,000.00 |
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ATARI 7800 “CHOPLIFTER” GAME CARTRIGE $1,000.00 |
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ATARI 7800 “POLE POSITION II” GAME CARTRIGE $1,000.00 |
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ATARI 2600 “BASEBALL” GAME CARTRIGE $1,000.00 |
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ATARI 2600 GAME CARTRIDGE MISSLE COMMAND $1,000.00 |
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LOCHJAW EXTREMELY RARE 9 ATARI 2600 or 7800 $999.99 |
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CHASE THE CHUCK WAGON CHUCKWAGON IN BOX CIB ATARI 2600 $999.99 |
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IN BOX Atari Jaguar Black Console w/ 31 games bundled w/ extra controller $962.97 |
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ASTEROIDS DELUXE – ATARI VIDEO ARCADE GAME $929.00 |
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Atari Breakout Arcade Game from 1978! Works Great! $899.00 |
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Atari Centipede Video Arcade Game – Works Great! $895.00 |
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1981 ATARI TEMPEST ARCADE GAME – COMPLETE WITH MANUALS $895.00 |
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ATARI – DIG DUG – VIDEO ARCADE GAME $829.00 |
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DEATH TRAP SEALED NEW IN BOX NIB ATARI 2600 or 7800 $799.99 |
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Vintage ATARI Basketball trakball B&W game, works great, great cabinet MUSEUM $799.99 |
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CRAZY CLIMBER BOX MANUAL & GAME ATARI 2600 NEW SEALED $799.99 |
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Atari KLAX Arcade Video Game – NICE- Puzzle game for 2 players! JAMMA also! $549.00 |
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Atari 2600 Game Console Boxed With Combat Cartridge $710.20 |
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POLE POSITION by ATARI – VIDEO ARCADE GAME $779.00 |
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LOT X2 ATARI JAGUAR PAL & NTSC 8 games DOOM ALIEN PREDATOR 3 controlers cables + $750.00 |
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Atari 5200 4-port System, 57 games, Controllers, Extras $750.00 |
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Atari 2600 QUADRUN Very Rare title in Excellent condition Collector Owned $699.95 |
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Atari Millipede Video Game-Coin Operated $695.00 |
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Atari 2600 Game Console Boxed With Combat Cartridge $532.65 |
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BIG KLAX Atari ARCADE VIDEO GAME upright FULL SIZE retro vintage classic puzzle $599.00 |
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Atari 720° Arcade Skateboarding Game $586.00 |
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ATARI – MAXIMUM FORCE – VIDEO ARCADE GAME $569.00 |
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BLASTEROIDS by ATARI – VIDEO ARCADE GAME $569.00 |
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VINDICATORS by ATARI – VIDEO ARCADE GAME $569.00 |
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CHAMPIONSHIP SPRINT by ATARI – VIDEO ARCADE GAME $569.00 |
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ROAD BLASTERS by ATARI – VIDEO ARCADE GAME $569.00 |
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Missile Command table top coin op arcade game by Atari classic vintage $550.00 |
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Atari Jaguar CD NEW in box with 4 game pack in! excellent condition! NTSC! $499.99 |
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Atari 2600 Lot with controllers and games & lot more! $499.97 |
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Atari Jaguar In Box With 10 Games $500.00 |
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ATARI APB VIDEO ARCADE GAME $500.00 |
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ATARI 2600 CRAZY CLIMBER Rarity of 8/10 R8 CIB complete in box Boxed RARE $500.00 |
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ATARI OFF THE WALL VIDEO ARCADE GAME $500.00 |
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TOOTH PROTECTORS WITH MANUAL EXTREMELY RARE ATARI 2600 $499.99 |
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Fred and Friends Hot Head Pac Man $7.65 Pot holder in pac man shape100-Percent siliconeIconoc pac man with game board interior designDish washer safe Fred and Friends. He’s a mouth with a new mission. Pac-Man is back, and he’s ready to gobble up your hot pots and pans. Our newest all-silicone Hothead is happy to hang out in your kitchen and bring abck fond memories of your misspent hours at the game console. Individual clear box…. |
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Fred and Friends Ice Invaders $14.99 Ice Invaders This fantastic Ice Invaders Ice Tray is full of your favourite little pixelated aliens, ready to score their way into your favourite cold beverages. Yes, Space Invaders is now over 30 years old and to celebrate, we bring you this fantastic novelty ice tray! The tray itself is made from soft, flexible silicone, making it easy to push out each of the Space Invaders. Great gifts for retr… |
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Atari Game Lover Green Pint Glass $9.99 Look out all you Atari Game lovers, here ‘s the perfect glass for you. Green heavy duty pint glass. Measures 5.75″ high and 3″ wide in diameter…. |
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Spider-Man 2 – Music From And Inspired By $2.50 For such a sleek, high-flying superhero Spiderman seems to have surprisingly earthy tastes in rock & roll. No Jurassic 5. No Franz Ferdinand. Not even the White Stripes, whose color motif would have made perfect sense find space on his CD shelf. Instead, the latest installment of the comic book saga leans heavily toward explosive tunes by strapping tattooed men who aren’t afraid to cry: Dashboard … |
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X Games – IX $11.95 Music from 2003 Los Angeles games. Track Listing: 1 Deftones – Hexagram 4:08 2 Linkin Park – Faint 2:43 3 311 – Creatures (For A While) 4:25 4 D4, The – Get Loose 1:56 5 Borialis – Don’t Mean A Thing 4:07 6 Cold (4) – Suffocate 3:39 7 K-OS – Freeze 3:52 8 Inspectah Deck – The Movement 5:03 9 Static-X – Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment 3:27 10 Ataris, The… |
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Atari Hello Kitty:big City Dreams $12.53 Atari’s Hello Kitty Big City Dreams, an adventure where Kitty meets up with her old Sanrio pals like Badtz-Maru, Pochacco and My Melody and even makes some new friends. Choose between two modes, including exploration and mini-game. In the exploration mode, Kitty moves around her apartment, explores the Big City and interacts with inhabitants and items she comes across. In the mini-game mode, Kitty… |
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Pong Wall Stickers $29.99 Introduced in 1972, Pong quickly became a video game legend. Now you can become a legend in your own home by defeating your opponent by just peeling and sticking.This is an official Atari licensed product.50 decals per package 30 2″ center divider graphics 10 12″ high numbers 4 6″ paddles 6 various sized gameplay graphics… |
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Pacman with Pellets Vinyl Wall Art Decal, Black $10.99 8″ x 3″ Vinyl Wall Decal — Our vinyls are hand made with utmost care to ensure customer satisfaction and the longevity of your decal! Guaranteed to brighten any room in your home, our decals are made to last. Easy to apply, as well as remove if you’d need to! Some decals may come in multiple pieces due to the size of the design. We will include all instructions with your order. Can be applied usi… |
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NinDS – Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1 $14.13 Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1 delivers 50 iconic Atari games to the Nintendo DS. |
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