School me on Pengo

Zud

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So is this a fun game? Will others play it if I add it to my line-up?

I myself have never played it in the wild or on MAME.
 
It is a lot of fun, but I don't know that others will play it. I *think* Tappers here locally had one out but rotated it out.

I don't think average players get deep into the nuances of the play, and the advanced strategies.
 
Pengo is a fantastic game, but does not get the attention it deserves. Give it a try and see if you like it.
 
It's really tough and it's tough early in the game. Most people won't put the time in.
 
Yep, Pengo is a terrific game and then some, IMHO.

I never played it BITD...probably dismissed it as being too "cutesy" looking, but then re-discovered it through the Doyle PacMan multikit which I picked up way back when it was first released.

And I still play Pengo off of the kit all of the time to this day...was playing a few games just last night as a matter of fact.

Incredibly addictive in the best possible way :) !

Jon
 
I recently picked up a nice one (only missing side art) and it gets a lot of play in my game room. Game is fun when you really start playing it.

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Awesome game, and has a small following here. And definitely underappreciated. You've got to get into it a bit to really appreciate the depth and nuance, which might be a little beyond the casual non-collector player. But if you're willing to spend the time with it, it can be very worth it. I've enjoyed the hell out of the game.

I've described it in other threads as 'continuous motion chess', as you're constantly evaluating and anticipating the Sno-Bees' moves, and trying to stay one step ahead with how you arrange the blocks (which are both your offense and defense), so it's very much a 'thinking' game, but that's part of what sucks you in. It's one of those games where you can definitely get into the zone, and reach a flow-like state, when you really get into a good game of it.

You may want to check it out in MAME, or on a 60-in-1 (which is where I've played a lot of it, as it's fairly well emulated there), in order to see if you really like it. But it can have a high, "Fuuuuck! Ok, just one more game..." addiction factor.
 
It's really tough and it's tough early in the game. Most people won't put the time in.

Here's the thing.. with the original popcorn music ROM revision the difficulty scales well and the aggressiveness of the snowbees is balanced. IMO it makes a more rounded game ( for a non-expert player ).

The second revision, without popcorn music, just gets hard too quickly for an inexperienced player. Great for op's to get a few coins or someone who can play it well but I'd agree it would drive off a player from putting the time in to learn it.

I alternate between the versions but prefer the 1st revision, just because I'm not that good at it and still like the game ! :)

- James
 
That is a good description, continuous motion chess. Not sure how that would resonate with someone looking to play a fun,casual video game though.
 
So is this a fun game? Will others play it if I add it to my line-up?

I myself have never played it in the wild or on MAME.

It's a great game that doesn't get much play in my gameroom from others. Might be because I have all the highscores... :D

I play the Alternate version because I don't want to wait for the maze to draw...
 
So is this a fun game? Will others play it if I add it to my line-up?

I myself have never played it in the wild or on MAME.

When i was 10 years old they had a pengo cocktail machine in the chinese restraunt
near my house, me and my brother would play the hell out of it.
 
Pengo is both a really fun game and a really infuriating game. I've loved it since back in the day even though it drives me crazy...I should say the damn snobees drive me crazy. It's a good mix of punishing and rewarding. I keep going back to it...the challenge is good. Continuous motion chess is indeed a good analogy.
 
Pengo is both a really fun game and a really infuriating game. I've loved it since back in the day even though it drives me crazy...I should say the damn snobees drive me crazy. It's a good mix of punishing and rewarding. I keep going back to it...the challenge is good. Continuous motion chess is indeed a good analogy.



I think you hit the nail on the head, in that it's that line between fun and infuriating that makes it so good. It's a very fine line to walk, and most games tend to fall more clearly on one side or the other. But Pengo walks right on the edge, IMO. It's a simple-looking premise at first, but you realize pretty quickly that there's a lot more to it, and it scales well with the player's skill. That's a delicate balance to hit.

I personally put Asteroids Deluxe in the same fun/infuriating category (for me, anyway), particularly the v1 hard ROMs. These types of games get you addicted on pumping in 'just one more quarter'. The game duration is relatively short and intense, and I don't get tired after one good game, the way you can with other games.

I've heard folks talk similarly about Mr Do also, though I personally haven't played it enough.
 
Hah!!! I don't even have a mame romset for Looping that works. I'm ColecoVision only on that one.

Andrew, I would say Mr. Do! is close to Pengo in that regard, though the little clown hasn't gotten me nearly as pissed as the penguin. Good reference point.
 
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