Cloak & Dagger, 1983/84 Atari (20 From 1983 #14)
12Cool spy intrigue game with double joysticks-- one to move in 8 directions and one to fire in 8 directions-- and a "fuse" button that will light the giant bomb in the center of the screen, making it blow up sooner and granting you extra bonus points (if you can get the hell out of there in time). This game was originally to be called AGENT X and released in 1983, but some movie producers spoke with Atari about releasing it in 1984 to promote and coincide with their upcoming movie CLOAK & DAGGER, and this game took that title. I have not seen the film but I'm guessing similarities between the two are few at best. Your agent (played by Dabney Coleman in the film) must descend an elevator to the 33th basement floor to confront the evil Dr. Boom in his lab and recover stolen plans, then return all the way back to the surface. Along the way you will confront a litany of enemy robots, giant crawling eyes (very creepy!), explosives (in red canisters), forklifts, etc. There are non-explosive canisters as well (green) that you can collect for 100 points apiece, as well as brown boxes that may grant bonus points, extra (or slower) speed, and maybe an extra life. There are also boxes with an X on them that also grant an extra life. But DO NOT leave behind the boxes with an S on them-- they will show a safe passage through minefields, and you can not see mines until you're an inch away. With the bomb in the center of the room ticking away towards an explosion you don't really have time to tiptoe through the minefield. Bonus points are given after making it to the other side of the screen to the exit-- these include lighting the fuse yourself, using the "express elevator" (push or pull both joysticks in the direction the elevator is going to skip up to 5 floors) and the level bonus, which is 100 points times the floor you just completed. You get a nice steady stream of daggers thrown with each push of the "fire" joystick, so don't spare the ammo! The robots don't fire until you kill one of them, which is nice. Fun game with good sound effects-- but my favorite aspect of all is the humorous cutscenes, shown after you enter the elevator. The agent's hat gets taken by a hidden claw, he sweats bullets after a close call, he plays with a yo-yo or whistles a tune, etc. Brilliant! Have a great Columbus Day weekend, everyone!