Apple Panic

A climb&run game by Creative Software (Cartrige game). 

1997-05-10 4098 Apple Panic-6000.prg		PAL: BLK3/2
http://ftp.martnet.com/martnet/commie/vic20/roms/8k/Apple%20Panic-6000.prg

1997-05-10 4098 Apple Panic-a000.prg		PAL: BLK5/2
http://ftp.martnet.com/martnet/commie/vic20/roms/8k/Apple%20Panic-a000.prg

1997-05-10 8194 Apple Panic.prg			NTSC: BLK5
http://ftp.martnet.com/martnet/commie/vic20/roms/8k/Apple%20Panic.prg


http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/commodore/vic20/roms/8k/Apple%20Panic-6000.prg
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/commodore/vic20/roms/8k/Apple%20Panic-a000.prg
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/commodore/vic20/roms/8k/Apple%20Panic.prg
(Single ROM version of Apple Panic. NTSC screen position.)

ftp.funet.fi:/pub/cbm/vic20


Game name:
	Apple Panic
Company:
	Creative Software (Licensed from Broderbund)
Author:
	unknown (1982)
Game Type:
	Conversion of the arcade coin-op "Space Panic".
Required:
	16k RAM (8k each in banks 3 & 5). Joystick.
Graphics:
	Plain looking backgrounds, with very detailed (hi-res) characters.
Sound:
	Average.
Gameplay:
	Control is too fussy. You have to be pixel-perfect on ladders or it won't allow you to move on them. And so on. Game runs slowly too. Or rather, your character seems to move through molasses.
Overall:
	Flawed, but I can sure see where Broderbund got Lode Runner from! They just rebalanced this game and had a classic on their hands. The improved version sold well into the 1990's. This game is more of a history lesson, however, than competition for Loderunner.
Review:
	"Space Panic was the first of the climbing coin-ops, but it wasn't a hit until it reached the home market as Apple Panic!" (Seen in EG Trivia, page 111, Apr 83 Electronic Games)
Review:
	"Apple Panic... is the computer version of Universal's 'ground-breaking' coin-op, Space Panic. As it happens, the aliens who pursue -- and are, in turn, hunted by -- the game's shovel-wielding hero, bear a singular resemblance to -- you guessed it -- apples! It was therefore a relatively simple matter to redraw the aliens as ripe, red pieces of computer fruit. Other than this minor change in graphics, the computer software version is faithful to its source of inspiration. The action is quick and exciting and this title, which has been around for over a year, continues to do a good business. Like its role model, Apple Panic has become a genuine cult favorite among computer gamers. The ladders, the aliens, the holes -- all the familiar elements are here." (Seen in Jan 83 Electronic Games, on page 52.)
Review:
	Another article in Electronic Games, entitled "Closet Classics", (June 1983, pg 84) said this and more... "The object of the game was to catch the aliens by baiting them into pits you'd dug, and then covering them before they escaped. This was accomplished with the 'digging' button. As you got to the higher levels you had to dig two holes, perfectly placed, one above the other, to keep the alien in. The average playing time for Space Panic was 30 seconds. You felt like you'd been hit going up the ladder by a brick falling through the arcade. Or maybe you'd dug a hole too deep to escape from. Whatever it was, Space Panic played too hard and had to be buried. Someone must have seen it though, and liked it, because the game was released as a computer game by Broderbund under the name Apple Panic. This software version is deliciously true to the original. So perhaps there is life after the arcade!"
Review:
	A fairly lengthy article on the climbing games genre included a few paragraphs on Space Panic. One quote: "Not only did Space Panic prophesy the advent of climbing games, but of 'digging' games as well!" (See Electronic Games, Jan 83, page 55.)
Trivia:
	As you can probably tell, the reason I spent so much time and space on covering this title, is that it is the ancestor to many other games. Games like Loderunner and Donkey Kong apparently were direct descendants of "Space Panic" and/or "Apple Panic". If you can get over the lack of finesse, maybe you'll like this one.



VIC-20 Cartridge Software Reviews
http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/vic20/Cartzilla.html
mail: Marko.Makela@HUT.FI