....and now: Moon Patrol "Deep Thoughts"- starring, vintage,gamer..

vintagegamer

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....and now: Moon Patrol "Deep Thoughts"- starring, vintage,gamer..

I had some random MP gameplay thoughts I wanted to share with the Masses...

When I first learned about this game, it didn't seem like it had a lot going on in it. Yeah, you drive on a flat surface- OK, I get it. Ships drop bombs on you.. Woo. Didn't seem very interactive.

And then I got my own MP… :) I have totally fallen in love with the gameplay because it has little nuances of so many other games out there that I recall from my youth. Jumping over the holes in the ground reminds me a bit of Pitfall. The round brown items (man that just don't sound right) that roll toward you feel like Donkey Kong. The up-and-down sound of the ships dropping bombs on you reminds me of the sound you hear in Pac Man.

In addition to the 'other-game' similarities, the music also has me tapping my foot the whole time. It's like you're not just playing the game: it's like you're doing the Samba with it at the same time!

And finally, re: the music at the end, to tell you the game has ended.. It has that cowboy saloon-piano-type tone which you also hear in Mappy. I just love it.

I have no idea how I ever missed seeing or playing this game in the arcades when I was a kid. I'm just glad I've gotten this second chance to play and enjoy it now. Thank you, Williams!
 
Well said... MP was my first video machine ever and i love it to this day... VERY underrated game IMHO
 
I've always like MP, it's a pity it never really got a sequel. I've always thought "Mars Patrol" would have been a good follow up, with the same graphics and gameplay, just a bigger variety of them, a few new weapons and new obstactles.

That's where sequels always seem to blow it, the programmers get too smart for their own good and try to re-invent the wheel, but just end up totally hosing what made the game fun to begin, Spy Hunter II being a perfect example. Frenzy is a good example IMHO of how to do a good sequel, it still has the same gameplay, relatively same style of graphics and overall feel of Berzerk, but adds to it rather than trying to change it.
 
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It's a good game, it's got some nice random elements (the flying obstacles and consequently their interaction with changing the terrain). The biggest hurdle in the game for folks usually is the rocks area on the Challenge Course. You'll see a lot of 70-90k scores until you learn what method you prefer (and there are several) to pass that area. It's akin to the 3rd elevators in DK but without randomness if that makes sense.

If you play it enough you'll get to a point in the game where you are hardly looking at the terrain at all. My best score is a little over 800k, I'd like to break 1m at some point but there are so many great games to play that take a lot of time....
 
I've always like MP, it's a pity it never really got a sequel. I've always thought "Mars Patrol" would be a good follow up, with the same graphics and gameplay, just a bigger variety of them, a few new weapons and new obstactles.

There's an iPad/iPhone app called "Space Patrol" that I think would have been a great sequel BITD. Damn mutant red ants! :D

mzl.sdetiqwa.320x480-75.jpg
 
The game really is underrated. At first glance, the first levels make it look lame and set up for 5 year olds. After the 2nd level though, all that starts to change :D

After you see a few of the things in the attract mode that show up later down the road, it really starts to be a completely different game!
 
Moon Patrol is one of my favorite games of all time as well. I started playing it because it was next to the Xevious machine my buddy and I played. We got so good at Xevious that we needed a time killer while the other guy was playing.

Moon Patrol and Plieads <sp> became the time fillers by virtue of being located right next to Xevious and I wound up loving Moon Patrol. One thing I like about it is how it keeps adding stuff *way* into the game. Most people will never get to see the tailgating UFO's or buggy eating plants unless they see them in the demo.

I'm playing it in MAME for now, but I'll eventually have a dedicated one for sure.
 
mp

The game really is underrated. At first glance, the first levels make it look lame and set up for 5 year olds. After the 2nd level though, all that starts to change :D

After you see a few of the things in the attract mode that show up later down the road, it really starts to be a completely different game!

this was my very first arcade game and i still have it. it is in my top ten, to me the music and the game itself is alot of fun. i play this with my daughter, she controls the jumps and we almost get to end of second level. i love the 3d scrolling effect, pretty good graphics for its day.
 
I love the in game music and the cabinet artwork as a whole. I have wanted one to put next to my Joust and Robotron for sometime now. Someday,someday...
 
Moon Patrol is awesome. You really hit the nail on the head with the different types of gameplay it offers.. It has elements of Jungle Hunt as well as Galaga/Galaxian style games when you are shooting at the ships above you.

I'm glad that more Moon Patrol cabinets have managed to survive the Multi-Williams phenomenon relatively unscathed.
 
Moon Patrol is awesome. You really hit the nail on the head with the different types of gameplay it offers.. It has elements of Jungle Hunt as well as Galaga/Galaxian style games when you are shooting at the ships above you.

I'm glad that more Moon Patrol cabinets have managed to survive the Multi-Williams phenomenon relatively unscathed.

Well part of the reason is that Moon Patrol isn't found on the jrok board. It's also in a narrower cabinet than Joust, so it doesn't work well with a 2 player CP.

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There's an iPad/iPhone app called "Space Patrol" that I think would have been a great sequel BITD. Damn mutant red ants! :D

mzl.sdetiqwa.320x480-75.jpg

I could only find it as an iPhone app, nothing came up for the iPad. I know it will run on the iPad, but was hoping for a native size for the graphics.
 
Well part of the reason is that Moon Patrol isn't found on the jrok board. It's also in a narrower cabinet than Joust, so it doesn't work well with a 2 player CP.

Also because the game was made by Irem not Williams, so the hardware on the board is completely different.
 
OK you guys have now made me add MP to my want list. That list keeps growing.

Muahahahaha....

( I do always wonder how many people actually start hunting for the game in question right after reading a thread like this one)
 
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