Phaser Patrol
Encyclopedia
Programmed by Dennis Caswell, Phaser Patrol is the first numbered release by Starpath
Corporation for the Atari 2600
. This game simulates a space flight in which you must pilot your ship to destroy the Dracon invaders. It makes use of many of the Atari 2600's console controls to simulate various aspects of piloting your ship.
Phaser Patrol can be compared to other 2600 space flight games such as Atari's
own Star Raiders
and Star Ship
, Imagic's
Star Voyager, and Activision's
Starmaster
.
Phaser Patrol was originally sold along with the Starpath Supercharger
for a price of $44.95. It was copyrighted in 1982.
The player has two screens available. The Sector Map shows locations of all the sectors. It shows the contents of some sectors as well. Friendly starbases are shown automatically at the game's start. Other sector contents are revealed as the player explores. Unexplored sectors are usually scanned when a player warp-hops into an adjacent sector.
The second screen is the Combat Action Screen. This screen features a large window through which the player views the action. In the middle of the window is the Lock On Sight and the Rangefinder, which aid the player in making successful torpedo shots.
At the bottom of the Combat Action Screen is the Instrument Panel. Two large squares on either end of the Instrument Panel show a color that corresponds to the sector's contents. Next to the squares are four stripes which indicate the status of four of your ship's systems. From top to bottom, they indicate status of the ship's shields, computer, long range scanners, and torpedoes.
In the middle of the Instrument Panel is the computer display. It shows a map of the sector with locations of Dracon starfighters. The display also shows how much energy is remaining, how much energy a warp-hop would consume, and how much time has elapsed in the current game.
During the course of gameplay, it is possible for the player's ship to be damaged by enemy fire. Such damage will cause the player to lose energy units and could cause damage to the ship's systems. Damaged systems do not function properly and must be repaired to restore normal operation. Damage to the ship also increases the likelihood of the ship being totally destroyed. When the ship is damaged or low on energy, a visit to one of your starbases will repair all damage and restore all energy. If the ship is destroyed, the game ends.
On the joystick, the stick is used to move a cursor around the Sector Map. Pressing the button will begin a warp-hop to the highlighted sector. On the Combat Action Screen, the stick is used to fly your ship, and the button fires your Phaser Torpedoes.
Since Phaser Patrol makes use of the 2600's TV Type switch, it is not fully compatible with the Atari 7800
. Since the Atari 7800 has no TV Type switch, 7800 users will not be able to shut down the shields to save energy during gameplay.
Starpath
Starpath was a U.S. company known for creating the Starpath Supercharger in 1982. The company was founded in 1981 under the name Arcadia Corporation, but it changed its name to Starpath shortly after for trademark reasons...
Corporation 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...
. This game simulates a space flight in which you must pilot your ship to destroy the Dracon invaders. It makes use of many of the Atari 2600's console controls to simulate various aspects of piloting your ship.
Phaser Patrol can be compared to other 2600 space flight games such as Atari's
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
own Star Raiders
Star Raiders
Star Raiders is a video game for the Atari 8-bit family of computers, released in 1979 and programmed by Doug Neubauer. It was also later ported to other Atari computer and game platforms...
and Star Ship
Star Ship
Star Ship is a video game cartridge developed by Atari for its Video Computer System . The game was one of the nine launch titles offered when the Atari 2600 went on sale in January of 1978. It was designed and programmed by Bob Whitehead...
, Imagic's
Imagic
Imagic was a short-lived American video game developer and publisher that developed games for the Atari 2600, Intellivision and other video game consoles in the early 1980s...
Star Voyager, and Activision's
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...
Starmaster
Starmaster
Starmaster is a video game produced for the Atari 2600 video game console. It was created by Alan Miller, and released in June 1982 by Activision...
.
Phaser Patrol was originally sold along with the Starpath Supercharger
Starpath Supercharger
The Starpath Supercharger was an add-on module created by Starpath to expand the game capabilities of the Atari 2600 video game console. The device resembled a long game cartridge with a handle on one end. The Supercharger interface multiplied the Atari 2600's RAM 49-fold, from its meager built-in...
for a price of $44.95. It was copyrighted in 1982.
Gameplay
The game must first be loaded into the Supercharger by a typical cassette recorder. When the intro screen appears, the user is allowed to set the game's difficulty via the console's right difficulty switch. Position A on the 2600, or "expert" on the Sears Tele-Games Video Arcade sets the game to high difficulty for experienced players. Position B or "novice" is the normal game. As with other Starpath games, setting a higher difficulty will award extra bonus points if the player can successfully complete the game's objectives. The game is started by pressing "Game Reset" on the 2600.The player has two screens available. The Sector Map shows locations of all the sectors. It shows the contents of some sectors as well. Friendly starbases are shown automatically at the game's start. Other sector contents are revealed as the player explores. Unexplored sectors are usually scanned when a player warp-hops into an adjacent sector.
The second screen is the Combat Action Screen. This screen features a large window through which the player views the action. In the middle of the window is the Lock On Sight and the Rangefinder, which aid the player in making successful torpedo shots.
At the bottom of the Combat Action Screen is the Instrument Panel. Two large squares on either end of the Instrument Panel show a color that corresponds to the sector's contents. Next to the squares are four stripes which indicate the status of four of your ship's systems. From top to bottom, they indicate status of the ship's shields, computer, long range scanners, and torpedoes.
In the middle of the Instrument Panel is the computer display. It shows a map of the sector with locations of Dracon starfighters. The display also shows how much energy is remaining, how much energy a warp-hop would consume, and how much time has elapsed in the current game.
During the course of gameplay, it is possible for the player's ship to be damaged by enemy fire. Such damage will cause the player to lose energy units and could cause damage to the ship's systems. Damaged systems do not function properly and must be repaired to restore normal operation. Damage to the ship also increases the likelihood of the ship being totally destroyed. When the ship is damaged or low on energy, a visit to one of your starbases will repair all damage and restore all energy. If the ship is destroyed, the game ends.
Controls
Phaser Patrol uses a Joystick controller, which is plugged into the 2600's left joystick port. Phaser Patrol also uses the TV Type switch to control the shields and the left difficulty switch to switch between the Sector Map and Combat Action Screens. The Left Difficulty switch sets the game difficulty before the game starts. The Game Reset Switch starts your game. The Game Select switch is not used.On the joystick, the stick is used to move a cursor around the Sector Map. Pressing the button will begin a warp-hop to the highlighted sector. On the Combat Action Screen, the stick is used to fly your ship, and the button fires your Phaser Torpedoes.
Since Phaser Patrol makes use of the 2600's TV Type switch, it is not fully compatible with the Atari 7800
Atari 7800
The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a video game console re-released by Atari Corporation in January 1986. The original release had occurred two years earlier under Atari Inc. The 7800 had originally been designed to replace Atari Inc.'s Atari 5200 in 1984, but was temporarily...
. Since the Atari 7800 has no TV Type switch, 7800 users will not be able to shut down the shields to save energy during gameplay.