Denial

Gave Squeeze another go: 3175. I did not play very well - it's all about strategy.

Gave them all a few plays. I tried them out on the ViceVic20 for android which I am enjoying very much

All 3 games are absolutely great. All fun, challenging in their own ways and unique games in and of themselves.

my high scores for now...
-Slab Dab:18290
-Squeeze:220
-Shark Attack:3790

Slab dab was a lot of fun. Squeeze was the most challenging. Shark attack Had the best balance between enjoyable gameplay and difficulty.

hasseapa wrote:Gave Squeeze another go: 3175. I did not play very well - it's all about strategy.

That is an insane score. You must have found some secret trick. I have not been able to pass the red level yet where you can't see the lines. And my score is 22XX I think.

Boray wrote:
That is an insane score. You must have found some secret trick. I have not been able to pass the red level yet where you can't see the lines. And my score is 22XX I think.

It's just a well thought-out strategy that worked even better than expected. E.g., it worked like a charm on the level with invisible lines (BTW they are visible again in the next level).

I will post a screen shot later but as it will totally reveal the strategy, it would spoil the fun for those who have not even tried the game yet. I have actually used this strategy only a few times as I find it more enjoyable to try out other more elaborate variants.

I found a review of Squeeze in the 1984 March issue of glossy US-mag Video Games. In the same issue VIC-games Final Orbit/Bumper Bash and Bandits are reviewed.

Good review. Thanks for sharing.

My new squeeze high score: 3791

After my first proper play through of these I would have to say that Squeeze is definitely the most challenging, and most resembles Qix, however my score was atrocious, and I am not sure if it will improve much with further play, but it is probably the only one of the three that I will spend much more time on. The collision detection seems a little unfair at times and it is way too fast for me.

Shark Attack is a fast-moving game and I found it quite challenging, I have struggled to find any logic and it all seems far too random, maybe I need to give it another chance.

As for Slap Dab, after the first three or four plays I discovered a strategy which ended up making the game way too easy and it was becoming tedious towards the end, sure I racked up a decent score, but the challenge had pretty much gone and I am sure I could have carried on longer it was getting boring, my wrist was aching and I was losing interest.

So my best scores so far are:

Shark attack: 4775
Slap Dab: 154910
Squeeze: 333

litody wrote: Shark Attack is a fast-moving game and I found it quite challenging, I have struggled to find any logic and it all seems far too random, maybe I need to give it another chance.

Hint: The sharks can't escape through the fences you draw as long as you move. When you stand still, they can go through. So, stand still as little as possible.

Two short reviews from 1984 - from Tony Takoushi's surprisingly good book The Best Software Guide Vic 20 & Commodore 64 Games. Squeeze is not reviewed though.

Boray wrote:My new squeeze high score: 3791

Motivates me to try again and perhaps refine my strategy.

litody wrote:The collision detection seems a little unfair at times and it is way too

Yes, IMO all three games seem a bit unfair in that respect. It may be fair in Shark Attack, it is hard to say as they move so fast.

litody wrote:Shark Attack is a fast-moving game and I found it quite challenging, I have struggled to find any logic and it all seems far too random, maybe I need to give it another chance

It's much like a Snake-game. If you don't move or if you move on already filled squares, the sharks can break free. It would be much clearer if there were two different versions of the fence/net chars. One sturdy & one fragile.

litody wrote:As for Slap Dab, after the first three or four plays I discovered a strategy which ended up making the game way too easy and it was becoming tedious towards the end, sure I racked up a decent score, but the challenge had pretty much gone and I am sure I could have carried on longer it was getting boring, my wrist was aching and I was losing interest.

My first thought when trying Slap Dap was: "Great, my type of game but I fear it's made to be broken". But not that easily broken - I can't believe they made it possible to score by painting already painted squares!

I will give it a go nonetheless but I will play for level progress, not for score.

litody wrote:Slap Dab: 154910

Goddammit, Shark Attack gets fast! I managed to reach screen 6 with all lives left and then quickly lost them all. And I was 200 points short of my best score which I set when I reached merely screen 4. Not a good strategy!

I simply must get 12000 points because I know I managed that back in the 80s. I was never over 13000 though.

Ola H wrote:Two short reviews from 1984 - from Tony Takoushi's surprisingly good book The Best Software Guide Vic 20 & Commodore 64 Games. Squeeze is not reviewed though.

Yeah, because it wasn't released in the UK.

Yeah, because it wasn't released in the UK.

True, but the book actually has an index over US games which he rates and gives basic information about. It is, however, not entirely reliable - Fort Apocalypse, for example, is listed and rated 7 7 7

To throw in another tidbit, the guy who programmed Shark Attack (Clifford Ramshaw) also wrote a book of type-in Basic games for the VIC called Innovative Computing. I don't know of any other games he made for the VIC but I would be surprised if there aren't any more.