Videogame Review, Centipede for the Atari 5200 (w/ Gold Joystick)

Videogame Review, Centipede for the Atari 5200 (w/ Gold Joystick)

Someone once asked me, “If you were stuck on a desert island and became isolated from everybody else with only one game to choose for this Atari machine, what would the game be?”  My choice in answering this question would likely be Centipede.  That’s because the arcade bug shooter captures what really makes the Atari 5200 machine: joystick, trackball, dial pad, analog, auto-fire, rapid shooting, fantastic graphics and sound, etc.  Still I’d rather not be stuck on a desert island with only one game in the first place.  Centipede actually speaks in terms of fantasy and wild color- from here on, the program invites us to shoot little, tiny bugs while having a blast from the 80’s; in fact, we’re able to experience the 80’s in more years since the 80’s than in the years actually from the 80’s.  There were only 10 years in the 80’s; I’m 32 years old.  Some reviewers don’t understand their own words and just look at the pictures included with a review.  I’m different from them.  Critics do have a lot of things to say; however, we must also learn that there’s no point in learning more about life just to become dumber about it.  I’ve also discovered that it’s not exactly necessary to play a video game really, really often.  Playing a game from time to time, and keeping it like fast food, helps me keep enough of my sanity in order to appreciate the TV.  Doesn’t it seem like when you’re watching TV that’s you’re just staring blank into space?  If so, you’ve probably been watching too much TV.  Go outside for a while- you know, smell the breeze, touch a leaf, step on a bug?  Then come back inside the house to play Centipede!  Being in a permanent fantasy involves the consequence of losing touch with reality.  If life is only a dream, how are you ever going to wake up and smell the roses?  Dreams are nice but we have to embark on locating matters.  Unfortunately, we can’t take a reviewer’s written work seriously if the reviewer doesn’t read books without pictures.  Yes, yes, you’ve probably texted your friends about video games and emailed someone from personal contacts, but you still need to learn from your own words as opposed to just pictures and physically-existing materials.  For example, what am I to take of the Atari 5200 joystick?  Why have so many gamers loved and hated this controller?  My guess (as an outsider) has to do with the distinction in my mind between shape and surface.  The shape of a circle is circle and yet its surface is round.  When looking at the Atari 5200 controller you see that the joystick is located in a circle on the base.  To draw a circle, all you have to do is tilt the joystick in a circle; and, to fill a circle, all you have to do is tilt the joystick inside the circle.  This is where controls get chaotic for Centipede!  You can take your time in drawing a circle and take your time in filling a circle- all on the joystick.  Bravery is required to get a score of points higher than 25,000.  The 5200 joystick has a good deal of texture, roundness, and, ironically, unseen planes built inside the device.  Graphics or visuals are part of the cliche: fighting bugs in the dark, forbidden forest.  Difficulty is very balanced even on the Expert mode.  It doesn’t feel like the whole world is coming down on you and slapping you really hard in the face; for a Centipede version like that, refer to Atari’s version for the Colecovision video game console.