Phaser Patrol
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Programmed by Dennis Caswell, Phaser Patrol is the first numbered release by Starpath Corporation for the Atari 2600. This game simulates a space flight in which you must pilot your ship to destroy the Dracon invaders. It makes use of many of the Atari 2600's console controls to simulate various aspects of piloting your ship. Phaser Patrol can be compared to other 2600 space flight games such as Atari's own Star Raiders and Star Ship, Imagic's Star Voyager, and Activision's Starmaster. Phaser Patrol was originally sold along with the Starpath Supercharger for a price of $44.95. It was copyrighted in 1982.
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[edit] Gameplay
The game must first be loaded into the Supercharger by a typical cassette recorder. When the intro screen appears, the user is allowed to set the game's difficulty via the console's right difficulty switch. Position A on the 2600, or "expert" on the Sears Tele-Games Video Arcade sets the game to high difficulty for experienced players. Position B or "novice" is the normal game. As with other Starpath games, setting a higher difficulty will award extra bonus points if the player can successfully complete the game's objectives. The game is started by pressing "Game Reset" on the 2600. The player has two screens available. The Sector Map shows locations of all the sectors. It shows the contents of some sectors as well. Friendly starbases are shown automatically at the game's start. Other sector contents are revealed as the player explores. Unexplored sectors are usually scanned when a player warp-hops into an adjacent sector. The second screen is the Combat Action Screen. This screen features a large window through which the player views the action. In the middle of the window is the Lock On Sight and the Rangefinder, which aid the player in making successful torpedo shots. At the bottom of the Combat Action Screen is the Instrument Panel. Two large squares on either end of the Instrument Panel show a color that corresponds to the sector's contents. Next to the squares are four stripes which indicate the status of four of your ship's systems. From top to bottom, they indicate status of the ship's shields, computer, long range scanners, and torpedoes. In the middle of the Instrument Panel is the computer display. It shows a map of the sector with locations of Dracon starfighters. The display also shows how much energy is remaining, how much energy a warp-hop would consume, and how much time has elapsed in the current game.
During the course of gameplay, it is possible for the player's ship to be damaged by enemy fire. Such damage will cause the player to lose energy units and could cause damage to the ship's systems. Damaged systems do not function properly and must be repaired to restore normal operation. Damage to the ship also increases the likelihood of the ship being totally destroyed. When the ship is damaged or low on energy, a visit to one of your starbases will repair all damage and restore all energy. If the ship is destroyed, the game ends.
[edit] Controls
Phaser Patrol uses a Joystick controller, which is plugged into the 2600's left joystick port. Phaser Patrol also uses the TV Type switch to control the shields and the left difficulty switch to switch between the Sector Map and Combat Action Screens. The Left Difficulty switch sets the game difficulty before the game starts. The Game Reset Switch starts your game. The Game Select switch is not used.
On the joystick, the stick is used to move a cursor around the Sector Map. Pressing the button will begin a warp-hop to the highlighted sector. On the Combat Action Screen, the stick is used to fly your ship, and the button fires your Phaser Torpedoes.
Since Phaser Patrol makes use of the 2600's TV Type switch, it is not fully compatible with the Atari 7800. Since the Atari 7800 has no TV Type switch, 7800 users will not be able to shut down the shields to save energy during gameplay.
[edit] Scoring
Phaser Patrol has only sixteen possible scores. It features four Ranks with four levels each. Destruction of your ship will autmatically cause you to earn the lowest rank and level, whereas finishing the game will earn you a higher rank and level.
