commentary about the book article for:
#4 = Boot Hill (1977)
- by JRu (Justin Russell)
- Arcade
- The review suggests this as "Pong redesigned by a John Wayne fan?" Laughable. It doesn't even feel like a pong game, its a totally different genre, with vastly different rules. This kind of inaccurate portrayal makes me feel like these reviewers are not concerned with the actual games, but in writing up some kind of fan fiction. Sorry, but it just bugs a historian like me.
- The article fails to mention the addition of computer-controlled opponent! That's a big change. Also, article says you lack certain realities without the actual arcade cabinet -- but the graveyard is definitely emulated. True, it is hard to replicate the dual-stick joystick setup though. Left for movement, and an analog grip-handle on the right for aiming & shooting. That's a fun setup to play on a real machine.
- "Bang, bang, you're really dead." Ugh, I hate that line. There is no "really dead" since this is all a video game. I'm sure this is in reference to the game's animation of shuttling off the dead cowboy to the graveyard and a tombstone is erected on the spot... but this is all good simulated fun.
MY QUICK REVIEW:
Boot Hill is the 2nd game, an "upgrade" of sorts from the 1975 game Gun Fight. They added the reflective glass to give it this feeling of depth. So I looked up who was the first to use this "projected mirror trick". Apparently in 1976, Midway introduced a few games using this setup: 280-Zzap, Sea-Wolf and Tornado Baseball.
In any case, gameplay is much like Gun Fight, two cowboys face off in a duel... loaded with just six bullets each "round" to shoot down the opponent. Various cactus are randomly generated on each side, which provide some obstacles and/or cover, but can be partially destroyed with a single bullet.
The biggest change from the previous game, in my opinion, is that there is now a computer controlled opponent. There is just a 70-second time limit on a quarter, so there is no such thing as a single-player "game" or campaign... but at least you can play a fun game by yourself.
There are probably other games that could've made this list... as Boot Hill only ranked 11th in 1977 and 20th in 1978 (according to RePlay magazine). In fact, I think one of the omitted games on the 1001 list could certainly have been Sea-Wolf by Midway, which was a very popular game and introduced a number of things itself. Boot Hill does have a nice style & presentation and is a good example of early head-to-head fighting type of game. So it's a nice inclusion on the 1001 list.
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