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Frostbite (video game)
Encyclopedia
Frostbite is a 1983 arcade game
designed by Steve Cartwright
for the Atari 2600
video game console
. It was published by Activision
in 1983.
s by jumping on floating blocks of ice, while trying to avoid deadly hazards like clam
s, snow geese
, Alaskan king crab
s, grizzly-looking polar bear
s, and the rapidly dropping temperature.
On the top of the screen is the shore where the player must build the Igloo. On later levels there is also a polar bear walking around on the shore which must be avoided.
The game levels alternate between large ice blocks and little ice pieces. The levels with the little pieces are actually easier, since one can walk left or right over them without falling in the water.
Each time the player jumps on a piece of ice in a row its color changes from white to blue and the player gets an ice block in the Igloo on the shore. The player has the ability to change the direction in which the ice is flowing by pressing the fire button, but that costs a piece of the Igloo.
After the player has jumped on all the pieces on the screen, they all turn back to white and one can jump on them again. When all the 15 ice blocks required for building the Igloo are gathered, the player has to get back to the shore and get inside it, thus proceeding to the next level. On every level the enemies and the ice blocks move slightly faster than in the previous level making the game more difficult.
Each level must be completed in 45 seconds, else the eskimo dies frozen. The faster the level is completed the more bonus points are awarded to the player.
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s in July 2010.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
designed by Steve Cartwright
Steve Cartwright
Steve Cartwright is an American computer and video game designer. He is best known as one of the original Activision game designers credited with such hits as Barnstorming, Megamania, Seaquest and Hacker...
for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. It was published by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in 1983.
Overview
The object of the game is to help Frostbite Bailey build iglooIgloo
An igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....
s by jumping on floating blocks of ice, while trying to avoid deadly hazards like clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
s, snow geese
Snow Goose
The Snow Goose , also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed...
, Alaskan king crab
Alaskan king crab fishing
Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide...
s, grizzly-looking polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s, and the rapidly dropping temperature.
Description
The game depicts a polar scenery. Bottom two thirds of the screen are covered by a mass of water with four rows of ice blocks floating horizontally. The player moves by jumping from one row to another while trying to avoid various kinds of foes including crabs and birds. There are also fish which grant extra points.On the top of the screen is the shore where the player must build the Igloo. On later levels there is also a polar bear walking around on the shore which must be avoided.
The game levels alternate between large ice blocks and little ice pieces. The levels with the little pieces are actually easier, since one can walk left or right over them without falling in the water.
Each time the player jumps on a piece of ice in a row its color changes from white to blue and the player gets an ice block in the Igloo on the shore. The player has the ability to change the direction in which the ice is flowing by pressing the fire button, but that costs a piece of the Igloo.
After the player has jumped on all the pieces on the screen, they all turn back to white and one can jump on them again. When all the 15 ice blocks required for building the Igloo are gathered, the player has to get back to the shore and get inside it, thus proceeding to the next level. On every level the enemies and the ice blocks move slightly faster than in the previous level making the game more difficult.
Each level must be completed in 45 seconds, else the eskimo dies frozen. The faster the level is completed the more bonus points are awarded to the player.
Ports
Frostbite was made available on Microsoft'sMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Windows-based
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s in July 2010.
Trivia
- The game manual included a chance to become an Arctic Architect, by achieving a suitably high score. By scoring 40,000 points or more, you could take a photo of the TV screen, showing the score and send it along to ActivisionActivisionActivision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. After verifying the score, you would receive an Arctic Architects emblem.