Vidiot--A Look at Classic Arcade Games Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Step into the cockpit, slap it into first gear, and step on the gas. Never mind that your car is a piece of plastic stuck on the screen--just don't hit the pylons flying past you at ever-increasing speeds. What game are you playing?

Answer: Night Driver

An amazingly good game considering how technologically limited it was. "Sprint" was another great one of the early age of video games, an overhead track with cars flying around it (and occasionally taking shortcuts). "Death Race" was every driver's fantasy in game form--kill all the pedestrians. Of course, "Speed Racer" was a cartoon.

2. Flippers, Pulsars, Tankers, Spikes... Shoot them all, and if you got caught on the edge and couldn't spin out of harm's way, blast them with your Super Zapper--don't worry, you'll get another one at the next level... if you make it there. And if you're really good, drop your quarter in and spin the knob to start at Level 9. What game would this be?

Answer: Tempest

The original concept of "Tempest" was "Space Invaders" from a different perspective--the aliens coming out at you from a hole in the center of a grid. Unusually high scores were possible by starting at the higher levels--the bonus you would receive for finishing level 9, for example, was higher than you would have scored if you played all 9 levels. And if, after your game ended, you immediately started another one, you could start at an even higher level--11, 13, 15, whatever, with progressively higher bonuses.

3. You're blasting away at birds flying erratically at you. Three of them reach the bottom of the screen, then turn back and fly back up in a nice, straight row. You kill them in rapid succession and what just happened? 200,000 points? Unreal! What game is this?

Answer: Phoenix

Yes, there is a way to get a quick 200,000 points--I have done it twice, both times on the second screen (when you have several birds coming at you and you can fire two shots at once instead of one). The birds have to line up three in a row and fly upward with their wings flapping like a regular bird and you need to kill them immediately--within about a half second.

4. There is a new game in town. It has four joysticks on the cabinet--two for each player. You look down at the instructions and see all the different moves listed--left stick to the left and right stick up for a "Jumping Back Kick", left one down and right one right for a "Foot Sweep", and so on. How complicated, but if you can figure it out, it could be great. What game is this?

Answer: Karate Champ

The concept of this game was very similar to the tournament in "The Karate Kid" (the game predates the movie). The format was a One-on-One Karate match, just you against the opponent, with a judge in between, awarding points for successful moves.

5. You still haven't figured out this new-fangled "Track Ball" control, and the shots from your outside bases are moving too slowly to hit their targets, while you blew through your 10 shots on your center base way too quickly. Consequently, you can only watch as your last two cities are destroyed and the screen flashes with "The End" against a nuclear blast. What game just defeated you?

Answer: Missile Command

As great a game as "Missile Command" was, I am still amazed that nobody else ever tried to duplicate the formula. Games such as "Space Invaders" and "Donkey Kong" spawned many improvements and imitations, but "Missile Command" basically stood on its own.

6. You are flying through outer space, cruising low over mountains, carrying three humanoids. Suddenly, you come across a swarm of Yllabian Space Guppies. You don't have a chance to blast them and you're out of smart bombs. You could hyperspace, but that's the wimp's way out. Instead, you turn on the Inviso and now, unseen to your enemies, you blow them away. What is this sequel to "Defender" that you are playing?

Answer: Stargate

"Defender" was one of the most complex games of its time, with not only a joystick and a fire button, but also "reverse", "thrust", "hyperspace", and "smart bomb", and several different enemies--"landers", "mutants", "baiters", "pods", "swarmers". But its sequel, "Stargate", kicked that up another notch, with a new "Inviso" control, several more enemies ("phreds", "firebombers", "dynamos", and the aforementioned "guppies") and special waves ("Yllabian Dogfight", "Firebomber Showdown").

7. You are agent "Otto", heading down a 30-story building, blowing away enemy agents and gathering plans while jumping across elevator shafts, shooting out lights, and, somehow, finding escalators as a safe haven from bullets. What game are you playing?

Answer: Elevator Action

An absolute favorite of mine, even if you got past the cheesy graphics (jumping over what looked like a flying hot dog--really a bullet--then ducking under another one as it grazed your flat-top). And so many ways to kill your enemies--not only by shooting them or karate kicking, but also crushing them with an elevator, luring them off an open elevator shaft, or shooting a light off the ceiling onto them.

8. Speaking of "Otto", now we look at the "Malicious Basketball" as one vidiot put it. Yes, "Evil Otto", the big smiley face, coming after you since you're moving too slowly. Do you run for an exit, shoot Otto until he dies (only to come back faster in a couple seconds), or shoot through a wall and make your own exit? Whatever you do, don't kill yourself by shooting into a solid wall and having your shot come back at you. What is this sequel to "Berserk"?

Answer: Frenzy

"Frenzy" was the sequel to "Berserk". While Otto was invincible in "Berserk", he could be killed with several shots in "Frenzy". In "Berserk", the walls were electric and killed everything that came in contact with them--you or robot--anything but Otto.

In "Frenzy", there were two kinds of walls--those you could shoot through (and then walk through) and those you could bank shots off of. In "Berserk", you would commit suicide by walking into a wall. In "Frenzy", suicide was by banking a shot off the wall.

9. You have made it through "Astro Battles", "Laser Attack", "Galaxians", and "Space Warp". Now, you find yourself shooting at what looks like a digital thermometer--no, that's the flagship. What game is this?

Answer: Gorf

One of the first multi-part games, two of the five missions were direct clones of already existing games ("Space Invaders" and "Galaxian"). It was also one of the first to use speech synthesis and to give players more ships for more money (as did "Stargate", above).

10. Another new game comes to the arcade. This game looks suspiciously like "Dig Dug", only there are apples instead of rocks, cherries buried in the dirt, and you are a clown being chased by a letter, chomping ghosts, and who knows what else. What game is this?

Answer: Mr. Do

This was one game with absolutely annoying graphics--almost to the point of insulting the player's intelligence. On the other hand, it was consistently challenging and required more strategy and planning than most games, including "Dig Dug". Unlike "Dig Dug", you could move the "rocks", which could lead to some great scoring opportunities. Gaining extra men required more than simply scoring points. And you could end a level either by killing all the enemies or eating all the cherries, whichever worked to your best advantage.

Source: Author eauhomme

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Vidiot--A Look at Classic Arcade Games Quiz

Grab your quarters, or better yet, your tokens, and think back about 25 years... Was it Starship, Space Station, Alladin's Castle? Whatever they called it, did you spend way too much time and money in a dark room full of video games?

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>