Atari
Crystal Castles

Daten
Veröffentlichung 8. Juli 1983 (37200)
November 1983 (37201)
März 1984 (Kits)
Vertrieb Atari
Atari, Inc.
1265 Borregas Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Entwicklung Atari
Atari, Inc.
1265 Borregas Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Produktcode 37200 (Standgerät)
37201 (Tischgerät)
37202 (Cabaret)
Spieldesign Scott Fuller
Programmierung Franz X. Lanzinger
Sam Lee
Grafische Gestaltung Barbara Singh
Susan McBride
Dave Ralston
Genre Labyrinth
Steuerung Trackball + Button
Spieler 1–2 (abwechselnd)
Prozessor MOS 6502, 1,512 MHz
Audio-Subsystem 2× Atari Pokey, 1,25 MHz
Tonausgabe Stereo
Bildschirm Electrohome G07
Bildschirmtyp Rasterbildschirm, 19″
Bildausrichtung horizontal
Grafikauflösung 256 × 232
Farbpalette 32 Farben
Bauformen Standgerät
Cocktail-Tisch
Cabaret-Standgerät
Umrüstkit für Missile Command, Dig Dug, Kangaroo und Arabian
Abmessungen H×B×T Standgerät: 182×64×79 cm
Gewicht Standgerät: 132 kg
Produktion 4880 Standgeräte
500 Cocktail-Tische
Wertung ★★★★

Atari Crystal Castles

Screenshot

Werbetext (englisch)
Once upon a time there lived a bear named Bentley
Who wandered o'er the land in search of fortune plenty.
Picnic baskets and such were not his bill of fare.
Only ruby gemstones could content this clever bear.
While roaming the lands of Crystal Castles,
Bentley gathered his jewels with the greatest of care.
A snatch here and thereby s swift paw or two
Showered fame and fortune on this rarest of bears!

Life is no picnic for Bentley Bear as he walks the crossroads between waves in new CRYSTAL CASTLES from ATARI. Each wave presents him with a tempting trail of ruby gemstones winding in and out and all around a 3-D super maze structure that varies in 16 different playfields, including a castle, fortress, palace, and even a dungeon. There are tunnels to explore, elevators that take him from one plateau to another, and sometimes a hidden ramp!
Bentley's determined to collect all the gems – which treats him to a rapidly escalating point calue for each succeeding stone plucked… all the way up to 99 points apiece. The trick is to escape all the scary creatures that chase him along the way and do their share of gem gathering to lessen his chances. If he is able to beat out his competition and get the last gem in a wave, he also captures a handsome bonus.
The screen is a fury of action as our furry friend encounters nasty trees which vigorously pursue him. Gem Eaters wind their way to digest their portion of the jewels. Crystal balls with magical faces roll along th wreak their havoc. If Bentley takes too much time, a swarm of bees descends to get him moving. Each level of game play progresses through four separate maze waves, and it is on every fourth wave where Berthilda the Witch lives. The emise of Berthilda is worth 3,000 points to Bentley Bear, but he can only do her in while wearing the magic hat positioned somewhere on the screen. The special powers of the hat run out quickly but do make Bentley invincible to all opponents for a few seconds.
CRYSTAL CASTLES also features a Warp Tunnel through which a player can jump ahead – when beginning a new game – to the level of play he just completed in the preceding game. And there are chances for Secret Warps to be discovered in later waves! Warping always benefits the player with at least one bonus life, and two if the player warps to level 4 or above.

Trivia
Crystal Castles ist das erste Arcadespiel mit dem Leta-Chip, einem von Scott Fuller entwickelten Trackball-Controllerchip.

Bentley Bear, einer der Charaktere des Spiels, sollte ursprünglich Braveheart Bear heißen, der Name wurde aber auf Anraten von Vertretern der amerikanischen Ureinwohner geändert. Die Figur taucht 1995 im Jaguar-Spiel Atari Karts als Spielfigur auf.

Die zwischen 2006 und 2017 aktive kanadische Electropunk-Band Crystal Castles benannte sich nach dem Spiel.

Neben den Atari-Umsetzungen wurde das Spiel von anderen Softwarehäusern auch auf Acorn Electron, Apple II, Amstrad/Schneider CPC und Sinclair ZX Spectrum portiert.

Konsolen- und Computerumsetzungen von Atari
Crystal Castles (Acorn Electron/BBC Micro)
Crystal Castles (Atari 2600)
Crystal Castles (Atari ST)
Crystal Castles (Atari XL/XE)
Crystal Castles (Commodore 64)
Crystal Castles (Commodore VIC-20)
Crystal Castles (IBM PC)

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Letzte Seitenbearbeitung: 29. November 2023