2600: single screen 'platformer' with grappling hook, dinosaurs?

Shapey Fiend

I used to own a pretty crappy platformer on the 2600 and I'm wondering what it was called. I'm pretty sure it was an arcade conversion and the enemies were dinosaurs (although so badly drawn you wouldn't know unless you looked at the cover art).

There are platforms on the left and right and you shoot a hook upwards diagonally to get up to the next one, while avoiding the dinosaurs walking about on them.

It was incredibly, mercilessly hard. I got to the 2nd screen a few times but couldn't get 10 seconds into that without running out of lives.

pdbhp

Could be Spiderman that has similar gameplay and is total garbage.

Shapey Fiend

Nah it's definitely not Spiderman. And it's definitely a conversion of a similarly styled arcade game. Main character was maybe an explorer/adventurer type with a hat or whatever. And there were dinosaurs.

Retr0gamer

Could be Pitfall and you are mistaking the grappling for the vines and dinosaurs for crocodiles?

Shapey Fiend

Nah.. it's not Pitfall. You travel up the screen (or at least in the first level you did, I think you might have been going down in the 2nd). I'm not even sure if you could jump that's why I put 'platformer' in inverted commas.

This isn't an obviously well known game. Otherwise I'd know what it was.

batari

Damn you have me on this one. The only game I can think of remotely like what you describe is Miner 2049er, but I don't think there are any grappling hooks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_WRCp469-A

Dr Bob

grappling hook style weapon and dinosaurs sounds like rygar?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfONNlhYYOw
never got a 2600 release , and is a scrolling screen game though you're talking about a flick screenone?
there was an NES game which was different again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCkTZoDbnTw
but doesnt sound like it either?
Only other vcs game I know with a character with a hat was montezuma's revenge , which is a split screen adventure , but has no hooks or dinosaurs...


I'd say your best bet is to ask over at the atariage forums, it's either a really obscure game or (sorry) you're mixing up 2 games..

Dan_Solo

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

There are platforms on the left and right and you shoot a hook upwards diagonally to get up to the next one, while avoiding the dinosaurs walking about on them.

This doesn't sound familiar at all and would've been very tough to implement on a 2600.

Dr Bob

Dan_Solo wrote: »

This doesn't sound familiar at all and would've been very tough to implement on a 2600.

The only game I'm familiar with that had remotely that mechanism was bionic commando , which was a scroller and wasnt on the vcs/2600..

Dan_Solo

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrapplingHookPistol
Nothing for the 2600 I'm afraid.

chopperbyrne

I too had this game, but can't remember the name of it.

It definitely exists and you had to be pixel perfect with the grappling hook or it wouldn't work.

Found it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stiRBfuPHk4

Roc 'n Rope

EDIT: Maybe I was just ****e back then, but I could never get that damn grappling hook to work!

Dan_Solo

Good hunting. It should be on that tropes list!
I was right about it being difficult to implement. Looks like they shouldn't have tried!

eddhorse

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I too had this game, but can't remember the name of it.

It definitely exists and you had to be pixel perfect with the grappling hook or it wouldn't work.

Found it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stiRBfuPHk4

Roc 'n Rope

EDIT: Maybe I was just ****e back then, but I could never get that damn grappling hook to work!

In all fairness if you couldnt work that grappling hook, you are more or less fooked !

Shapey Fiend

Nice work lads. That's the one. The controls were fiddly as hell alright. The hook wouldn't work unless you were in precisely the right spot. As you can see in the video you needed incredible patience to avoid the enemies as well.