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Blackhawk - has anyone ever figured this game out?


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In looking through some Analog mag issues, I saw this ad for Blackhawk.  I remembered I was always curious to how it looked, but never bothered to order it.  Damn, what a lousy game :) It's glitchy as hell.  So the ad says you have to fly to an embassy to pick up hostages ala Choplifter and fly back to your carrier. It also mentions features like color or b&w (Ooohhhh) and pause (Aaahhh).  You supposedly can select which difficulty level to start at.  Well, I can't find the color/b&w option or pause.  The *only* button that does anything from the title screen is the fire button, which starts the game.  SELECT changes the threat (?) level and OPTION lowers it one number (when you hold it down) but releasing it puts it back up a number.  I've flown as far north as I can until I ran out of fuel and I see the same buildings, tents, and airstrips (?).  Attempting to land anywhere does nothing, but I noticed the background color for the text changes to white when I'm over something, and if I hang around in that area long enough, I immediately appear back at the carrier (as though I was killed).  Pressing Fire shoots the cannon (and changes the counter) and pressing fire+down launches a rocket.   Even the score counter shows glitches.  If you run out of fuel and crash, you have to reload the game since there's no way to restart!  Your chopper will slowly drag itself back to the carrier (spinning all the while), but you can still shoot, though.

 

I did notice that if you fly down instead of up, you'll fly off the "map" and into random graphics data.  After a few minutes, you'll find the name of the game on the ground. If you keep flying and crash, your spinning chopper will keep going south.  Usually the game will completely crash out, but once the title screen appeared, only this time it was glitched out. 

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I haven't heard of this one.  But it sounds so bad, it may be fun to give it a try! 

 

YMMV, but... I want the last 11 minutes of my life back.  :lol:

 

This is a terrible and/or unfinished game with very little in the way of polish.  Actually, forget being polished, there's very little in the way of GAME.  That anyone was ever charged $15 for a glorified helicopter sound effects simulator is a travesty.

 

I think "THRT" might be the throttle?  Maybe?  Setting it to ":" (which comes after 9... sometimes) makes you hover.  Not that hovering really helps you accomplish anything.  "0" makes you fly fastest.  There isn't all that much difference between the 10 speed levels, though, assuming that's what they are.  "PASS", I once got to decrease from 40 to 28, but I have no idea how I did it.  Did I lose some passengers somehow?  Is PASS even short for passengers?  My kingdom for a game manual, not that it would likely explain all that much...

 

It doesn't seem like you can hit enemy aircraft, though I admit that I only gave it about three minutes of trying.  Some of the ground targets (tanks, and... ?) can be destroyed, but I have no idea how it decides whether you've hit something or not.  Rockets either go part-way across the screen, or wrap around the screen multiple times.  Not sure if that's just random, or what.  Not that it MATTERS, you can't seem to do anything all that useful with them!

 

Indeed, the most entertaining (I guess?) part was flying down through the glitched graphics to see the glitched-out title screen float past.

 

"I'm afraid this gets my lowest rating ever: seven thumbs up!"  :P  :rofl: 

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There's something oddly satisfying about bad games.

 

You guys ever try "Forbidden Forest"?  On the C64, the game looks bad, but it's actually very fun.  It has great music, challenging controls (that make you want to keep trying), and parallax scrolling.  It looks like they used regular characters for graphics, but it's still a great game.

 

Then there's the Atari port.  Take away the music, the parallax scrolling, and all of the fun.  :pile:

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In looking through some Analog mag issues, I saw this ad for Blackhawk.  I remembered I was always curious to how it looked, but never bothered to order it.  Damn, what a lousy game :) It's glitchy as hell.  So the ad says you have to fly to an embassy to pick up hostages ala Choplifter and fly back to your carrier. It also mentions features like color or b&w (Ooohhhh) and pause (Aaahhh).  You supposedly can select which difficulty level to start at.  Well, I can't find the color/b&w option or pause.  The *only* button that does anything from the title screen is the fire button, which starts the game.  SELECT changes the threat (?) level and OPTION lowers it one number (when you hold it down) but releasing it puts it back up a number.  I've flown as far north as I can until I ran out of fuel and I see the same buildings, tents, and airstrips (?).  Attempting to land anywhere does nothing, but I noticed the background color for the text changes to white when I'm over something, and if I hang around in that area long enough, I immediately appear back at the carrier (as though I was killed).  Pressing Fire shoots the cannon (and changes the counter) and pressing fire+down launches a rocket.   Even the score counter shows glitches.  If you run out of fuel and crash, you have to reload the game since there's no way to restart!  Your chopper will slowly drag itself back to the carrier (spinning all the while), but you can still shoot, though.
 
I did notice that if you fly down instead of up, you'll fly off the "map" and into random graphics data.  After a few minutes, you'll find the name of the game on the ground. If you keep flying and crash, your spinning chopper will keep going south.  Usually the game will completely crash out, but once the title screen appeared, only this time it was glitched out. 

 

 i think i still might have one new one left in stock somewhere. it never sold much at all. i must have played it at one time. i played just about every game i ever carried. some though were not the type that would get my synapses firing again.

 

lance

www.atarisales.com

VIDEO 61 & ATARI SALES
www.atarisales.com
22735 Congo St. NE, Stacy, MN 55079
651-462-2500

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Is there a manual for it?

 not sure. if its the game i think it is, it came in whats known as a flat pack, that opened like a book, with a sleeve inside to hold the disk and manual. i have no idea where it is, so i cannot tell you.

 in my own collection of manuals, i must have many hundreds, perhaps a thousand or more just for the 8-bit. i just need someones help to find the collection and dig it out for me.

 when i do, i will get it scanned and uploaded.

 

 

lance

www.atarisales.com

VIDEO 61 & ATARI SALES
www.atarisales.com
22735 Congo St. NE, Stacy, MN 55079
651-462-2500

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