K-Razy Shoot-Out

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K-Razy Shoot-Out
K-Razy Shoot-Out cover.jpg
Developer(s) K-Byte
Publisher(s) K-Byte
CBS Software
CBS Electronics (5200)
Designer(s) Keith Dreyer
Torre Meeder [1]
Platform(s) Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200
Release1981: Atari 8-bit
1983: Atari 5200
Genre(s) Multidirectional shooter

K-Razy Shoot-Out is a clone of the arcade video game Berzerk developed by K-Byte, a division of Kay Enterprises, and released for Atari 8-bit computers in 1981. [2] The game was written by Torre Meeder and Keith Dreyer, [3] and was the first Atari 8-bit cartridge from a third-party developer. [4] An Atari 5200 version followed in 1983. The team of Dreyer and Meeder also wrote the 1983 Atari 8-bit game Boulders and Bombs . [1]

Contents

K-Razy Shoot-Out is part of a series of titles with the "K-" prefix, including K-Razy Kritters [5] and K-Star Patrol. [6] All of them were published on cartridge. After CBS Software purchased K-Byte, [7] the games were published under the CBS brand, including the Atari 5200 port of K-Razy Shoot-Out. [8]

Gameplay

As in Berzerk, the goal is to destroy all of the robots occupying a series of randomly generated mazes. In Berzerk, if the player takes too long to clear a maze, an indestructible bouncing ball ("Evil Otto") drives the player to an exit. K-Razy Shoot-Out uses a visible timer instead. [9] If the timer runs out, the game ends. If the player exits a maze without clearing it, the player has to replay one or two mazes without getting points. [10]

Reception

K-Razy Shoot-Out sold 35,000 copies by June 1982. [11] John J. Anderson of Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games , wrote that as a Berzerk clone, "the only element that's missing is the speech ... lots of fun, and has a great deal of staying power". [4] It won the 1983 Arcade Award for "Best Arcade/Action Computer Game" from Electronic Games magazine. [2] The Berzerk similarity was mentioned, but also that the game has "a unique flavor all its own."

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
  2. 1 2 "1983 Arcade Awards". Electronic Games: 34. January 1983.
  3. ↑ "K-Razy Shoot-Out". Atari Mania.
  4. 1 2 Anderson, John J.; Small, David; Wolcott, Eric F. (Spring 1983). "Atari Personal Computer Games". Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games. p. 93.
  5. ↑ "K-Razy Kritters". Atari Mania.
  6. ↑ "K-Star Patrol Manual". archive.org.
  7. ↑ Ahl, David; Staples, Betsy (April 1983). "1983 Winter Consumer Electronics Show". Creative Computing. 9 (4): 18.
  8. ↑ Iida, Keita. "Atari 5200 Review: K-RAZY SHOOT-OUT". AtariHQ.com.
  9. ↑ "K-Razy Shoot-Out". Atari Protos.
  10. ↑ K-Razy Shoot-Out. CBS Software. 1981.
  11. ↑ Maher, Jimmy (2012-03-26). "The Wizardry Phenomenon". The Digital Antiquarian. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
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