Centipede

"Time to squish the centipede!"

''Mary Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?''
''With Silver Bells and Cockle Shells and Magic Mushrooms all in a row!''

Centipede is a brilliant game for the Atari 2600. In it you have to protect your garden from a marauding centipede who wants to eat up all your mushrooms! That kind of sucks because I guess a garden full of mushrooms is pretty valuable, especially if the guy who is protecting it has a magic wand.

I'm not sure if Centipedes eat mushrooms in real life, but maybe its these mushrooms that have made him grow so big. Some kind of strangeness is obviously afoot as most normal Centipedes can just be squished with a well-placed boot. This one needs a full on magic zap!

You obviously control ''wand'' with your joystick and fire up the screen using the big red fire button. The centipede is made up of segments and as it moves down the screen you must blast off the segments until the centipede is all gone. Each time it touches a mushroom it will drop to the next level, so it is wise to clear some mushrooms away to slow the Centipedes descent. It's sort of like Space Invaders, with you sat at the bottom of the screen firing upwards. The Centipede is made up nine segments initially. Hit a segment and it changes into a mushroom. But with each run the Centipede makes at you before you wipe it out will see it split into smaller sections which you have to destroy separately.

This is pretty easy to start with, but soon it gets harder as the Centipede starts to move faster and faster towards you and split into pieces. Also some other bad things like Jumping Spiders, Fleas and Scorpions will come and attack you from downscreen. The Spiders jump quickly about the screen, if it jumps over a mushroom it may disappear. A flea appears when most mushrooms near you are gone. He will drop down and create more. The scorpion rushes across and poisons mushrooms. If the centipede touches a poison mushroom it will head straight for you!

The faster you shoot the centipede and other bad things, the better score you get. if the Centipede reaches you down at the bottom though you will lose a wand (or life). But if you score 100,000 you will get a bonus wand.

The graphics are pretty simple even for the Atari 2600. The screen is dotted with mushrooms and the centipede is made up of basic square shapes. Your wand that moves around at the bottom its plain as well. However it moves very fast and soon it requires really fast responses and reactions from you. Much more challenging than many newer games I would say!

You should make sure your joystick is in good condition though, as if it is loose or sticky you will have a hard time reaching later levels. But if it's all in good working order, this is one classic every retrogamer should own!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/03, Updated 01/12/03