• Tag Archives Imagic

  • Dragonfire (Imagic)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    Dragonfire, Commodore VIC 20

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/189110245178/vgjunk-dragonfire-commodore-vic-20

    Dragonfire was originally released by Imagic for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It’s one of Imagic’s better games and while it is relatively simplistic as most Atari 2600 games are, it is fun enough to keep you interested.

    Commodore 64

    Game play is fairy straightforward. There are two unique stages. In the first stage you are attempting to cross a draw bridge, from one side of the screen to the other, while avoiding fireballs from a dragon that you can either attempt to jump over or duck under. There’s also the weird in-between kneel jump… The second stage switches to an overhead view inside the castle. In this stage you are attempting to collect the various treasures that are scattered about. In this stage the dragon lobs fireballs at you from the bottom of the screen. Once you have collected all of the treasures, a door will appear and you can exit. After this, the stages repeat only the fireballs come faster. You have a total of seven lives and a hit from a fireball will cause you to lose one of them.

    Atari 2600

    While Dragonfire was initially released for the Atari 2600 in 1982, it was ported to various other systems over the next few years. Later in 1982 is was released for Intellivision. In 1983 it was released for the VIC-20 and Spectrum. In 1984 it made its way to the Apple II, Commodore 64, ColecoVision and the TRS-80 Color Computer (which I think was the first version I ever played at a friend’s house.) While the graphics are better on the later version, game play is very similar and just as fun on the 2600 as on the other versions.

    Atari 2600

    I am not aware of any rereleases for this game so you will have to track down an original if you want to play it. The Atari 2600 cartridge is pretty easy to come by and worth having if you are a collector for that system. Cartridge versions are also available for the VIC-20, ColecoVision, Intellivision and CoCo. I believe all the others were disk based. The source code was also released by the author to the public domain in 2003 so you can also develop your own port if you want.




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  • Riddle of the Sphinx (Atari 2600, 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael 1 Comment

    ‘Riddle of the Sphinx’

    [2600] [USA] [MAGAZINE] [1982]

    • Electronic Games, November 1982

      • Scanned by Jason Scott, via The Internet Archive

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/157205813007/vgprintads-riddle-of-the-sphinx-2600-usa






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  • Riddle of the Sphinx (Atari 2600)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    Riddle of the Sphinx for the Atari 2600 (1982)

    Riddle of the Sphinx was released by Imagic for the Atari 2600 in 1982. This is an action adventure game in which you play the role of the Pharaoh’s son as he attempts to lift the curse of Anubis, God of the Dead. To do so, you must visit a series of temples in the desert and make the correct offerings.

    This game plays somewhat like a vertically scrolling shooter. You wander around the desert fighting off thieves, scorpions and other enemies while finding treasures and an occasional oasis to replenish your water. Your primary weapon is a sling with which you can hurl rocks at your enemies. When weakened because of wounds or thirst, your ability to fight becomes more limited. One particularly unique aspect of the game is that it made use of two joysticks. One was used for most basic game activities like movement, slinging rocks etc. The other was used to select a variety of special objects that you could find and use. Such objects had limited use and include: a jug for thirst, tannis leaf for healing, spade for digging for treasure, and a shield for protecting yourself.

    There are three game variations that have progressive levels of difficulty. The variation you choose affects things like what objects you start with, how many treasures you must find, how many offerings you must make at the various temples, etc. There are a number of specific treasures to find but, for example, in the first game variation you can finish the game without finding them all as your goal is to simply make it through the game with as many treasures as possible.

    For the time, this really wasn’t a bad game. However, it does not hold up particularly well today as an adventure game and it is kind of short with limited replay value. At least it has three variation for some variety. It’s probably worth checking out if you are interested in Atari 2600 games. It is available on no other system and was not re-released in any way as far as I am aware. A real cartridge shouldn’t be too expensive or you can try it via emulation. Just remember, you need both joysticks.


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