ZX HSC Round 8 - Kosmic Kanga / Pinball

[cmal]

Here's my first set of scores for the round, achieved on my trusty ZXBaremulator machine:

Kosmic Kanga: 2,002
Pinball: 10,800

Once I got used to Kanga's jumping and got my aiming up to snuff, the game is actually quite enjoyable. Made it to the 3rd level.
Pinball is a classic favorite of mine. Good choice.

[akeley]

Kosmic Kanga - 1205
Pinball - 9,310

So, KK. Lol. It's not often when I giggle like a loon when playing a game but this is one of these cases. The whole concept, name, gameplay are simply preposterous, and scream ZX SPECTRUM BIZARENESS MAX POWAH!1!! at me. As cmal mentions you can get (sort of) used to the controls and be, ahem, in control, at times, and the other times when you are not in control are kinda fun too.

It's a bit like Flappy Bird in slow motion. Totally get why this is a Marmite game and some folk hate it. [mention]Clebin[/mention], welcome to the Why Don't They Bloody Get It? club...I feel the same about many of my faves But we need more games like it in this compo, playing only the AAA arcade ports etc can get a bit stale.

Pinball is quite good for that year, I expected worse tbh. Still, the lack of nudge can be a bit heartbreaking with these side pockets.

[cmal]

"Marmite game" - Excellent description

[Morkin]

"Marmite game" - Excellent description

Well, I suppose you could say KK has a brown, sticky consistency...

[GreenCard]

My first scores...

Kosmic "Effing" Kanga - 700
Pinball - 5,700

I have to agree with Morkin, Kosmic Kanga is horrible! Pinball is quite fun though, despite my not being very good at pinball. I'll never understand how people become consistently good at pinball (my brother has always been really good at it). For me, a game of pinball consists of using the flippers to frenziedly flail at the ball which, seemingly unavoidably, always seems to end up going down one of the outlanes. Good fun while it lasts though.

[Morkin]

I have to agree with Morkin, Kosmic Kanga is horrible!

Kosmic Kanga 450
Pinball Wizard 2710

Two truly terrible games!

I'm very sorry Morkin, I didn't realise Kosmic Kanga was that bad. I think I'd even prefer Manic Miner!

...Well, I tried to warn people, it's all on you lot, the same thing happened during that WoS Mutan Zone fiasco, we were warned but nobody listened then either and look what happened.

...[mention]RWAC[/mention] can I just say I don't want to take the mickey out of my fellow players' scores, but 450 is *pretty* bad. I started a new game and scored 480 without actually pressing any control keys. I can only assume that you had your eyes shut whilst playing...

[Juan F. Ramirez]

New Kosmic Kanga score: 1,065
Pinball: 7,140 (no change)

[clebin]

I'm glad a few people have taken to Kosmic Kanga, but more people seem to hate it! I had no idea it would be such a controversial choice but I guess you can see it from the reviews at the time.

Crash gave it 88% and a Crash Smash: "A new, lively and well implemented game, playable and addictive, good value for money, highly recommended."

Sinclair User, though gave it 5/10: "Nice graphics, shame about the game."

SU also said this, which seems to be echoed in comments here: "Controlling the kangaroo is rather haphazard and consequently zapping anything becomes a matter of luck as well as skill."

See, I don't feel that at all. I very rarely die over something that wasn't completely my fault and I find Kanga's movement quite predictable.

My tactic is to hold 'down' to do little hops along the bottom. I try to take out the cars/jeeps/crabs first. That's the only element of luck - you have to wait for Kanga to fire a low shot to get them. If you're unlucky, you won't get one and will need to go for Plan B. You need to keep an escape route in mind, like hopping on to a ledge and not leave it too late as it might require 2 bounces to get height.

Having sorted out the cars, I do bigger bounces to take out flying things, get items, or hop onto platforms over the bombs. The first bigger bounce will get the low planes, and you can build up height to get the high flying planes, although I often let them go. You can always press 'down' to stop Kanga jumping higher than you want so I tend not to jump onto the ledge when picking up items, but just touch them and come down.

I hope that it 'clicks' for a few people and they start to enjoy it. [mention]akeley[/mention] really captured what I love about it.

[smurphboy]

Kosmic Kanga: 935 - I think I'm starting to see how to play this, you need to work out what to shoot and what to avoid and leave yourself room. Still a crappy score though.

[akeley]

For me, a game of pinball consists of using the flippers to frenziedly flail at the ball which, seemingly unavoidably, always seems to end up going down one of the outlanes.

A-men.

[RWAC]

I should've read the instructions. I didn't know you could shoot, not that it really helps me much.

Kosmic Kanga 755
Pinball 3330

[clebin]

[mention]Morkin[/mention] I've just seen your avatar. Brilliant!

EDIT: I just had to...

[Morkin]

I just scored 930 on "KfK" by starting the game and holding the fire button down (without pressing anything else)...

[akeley]

Move over Sabreman, Horace & Willy. ZX Spectrum has a new mascot

[smurphboy]

I just scored 930 on "KfK" by starting the game and holding the fire button down (without pressing anything else)...

I got five points more and actually played it. fml

[GreenCard]

I forced myself to give it another go...

Kosmic "Effing" Kanga: 1,290 (new)

#jesuiskanga

[Juan F. Ramirez]

New score:

Kosmic Kanga: 1,401
Pinball 7,140 (no change)

[clebin]

My tactic is to hold 'down' to do little hops along the bottom.

That's all very well in the horizontal levels, but it's a real shitshow on the vertical ones.

I reckon you could stay alive for a very long time doing that. I've heard that if you keep going long enough the bouncing ball eventually deflates, but that might be* an urban myth like the trailer in Lunar Jetman.

*definitely is

[R-Tape]

I didn't vote for it, but it seems that I've also succumbed to whatever cosmic mind control is making everyone think that Kosmic Kanga is not a pile of crap. Only [mention]Morkin[/mention] can snap us out of it.

Scores so far:
Pinball - 8090
Kosmic Kanga - 1455

In fact, if push came to shove, I'd say that Kosmic Kanga is the best game I've ever played.

Happy day.

[clebin]

Kosmic Kanga - 5209
Pinball - 7815

So I took a break from the mighty Kanga to play this here Pinball game. And I have to ask, [mention]Morkin[/mention], is this some kind of elaborate performance art? What clairvoyance do you have that allowed you to take revenge in this way? Somehow choosing a game that I would dislike so intensely, months before Kosmic Kanga was even picked and then using some kind of psychic control to influence the RNG into selecting it this week.

Do you use the same technique to stop the ball sailing between the two paddles or down the side-alley? Because as far as I can tell, without a nudge option, even Uri Geller would have hard time avoiding 50% of the balls lost in this game.

My high score is from my very first attempt. At that point, I thought Pinball was quite entertaining, but 20,000,000 attempts later I find myself wanting to buy a copy off eBay just to smash it into tiny pieces. On the times when I actually have a hope in hell of stopping the ball going out, I have less and less patience and concentration span to react in time. Thus, my scores are getting lower and lower each time I play, 7000, 5000, 3000... This post might look like petty tit-for-tat, but FFS I hate this game!

EDIT: funny how R-Tape’s post also mentions cosmic mind control. Is there a full moon? I think I can see a moonbase.

[cmal]

My tactic is to hold 'down' to do little hops along the bottom.

That's all very well in the horizontal levels, but it's a real shitshow on the vertical ones.

I agree. That vertical 3rd stage gets me every time. I'm better off spending all my time in stage 1 and 2 to rack up as much points as possible.

Called in sick today so I had some gaming time. Here are my updated scores:

Kosmic Kanga: 2,173
Pinball: 12,470

Pinball is all about getting that bonus number up and then hoping that your ball travels through the purple highlights so that the bonus adds to your score. Somehow the bonus resets if it gets to 1000 but not sure what triggers it.

[Juan F. Ramirez]

Yeah, Kosmic Kanga is a devil invention. The more you play it, the more you feel addicted to it. Abducted, I'd say.

I started to feel it last game. Let's hope this challenge ends soon.

And no, I won't change my avatar:

Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR AVATAR!

I'll pray for those who couldn't avoid it.

[Morkin]

This week definitely has a Stockholm syndrome vibe to it.

I picked Pinball not because I rate it insanely highly or can do well at it, just because I remember it being a playable pinball game from yesteryear.

My experience is the same as [mention]clebin[/mention]'s, in that my first try yielded far and away my best score, and I can't get close to it now. I think there is a smidgen of skill involved in that you can 'hold' the ball against your paddle (er... fnar?) but the movement seems quite random and sometimes you just can't avoid those side channels.

I think after having a go at the bonus game when it's announced <cough, cough>, I'm going to submit my scores and escape this foul place. The sun is shining. There is a world out there.

[akeley]

That vertical 3rd stage gets me every time. I'm better off spending all my time in stage 1 and 2 to rack up as much points as possible.

CHEESING ATTEMPT DETECTED! Yes, folks, the point-based loitering is a no-no. Especially that you'd have to die on purpose to do that, since the game is always pushing you forward.

So, just channel your inner marsupial, embrace the spirit of the "mighty Kanga" and conquer that pesky 3rd stage (avatar changing is optional)

[Morkin]

I got to the vertical stage twice and lost all my lives each time. That flippin' ball thing just flies straight at you.