Bug Hunt (Atari 8 bit computers family)

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Bug Hunt was made in 1987 by Atari for their 8 Bit computer family. It was the pack in game of the Atari XG-1 light gun, made by Newtronics.

In the game's story the player is working late at night for Atari to become a game designer. Suddenly bugs appear and crawl over the main board of the used computer.

The game consists of a single screen which is divided into 8 pieces. In these tiles creatures will appear, stay for a while and disappear again. Shooting the creatures yields in points. After some time the level ends and is evaluated on a score screen. In order to reach the next level the player has to meet a minimum accuracy requirement. If this threshold isn't met, the game ends and ranks the player depending on the score. The best achievable rank is "Trouble Shooter".

The manual states that the game will end after seven levels, but interestingly it will carry on, as long as the player manages to achieve a minimum accuracy of 80 %.

Personally I don't like the game. I think it is very uninspired and dull. The monochromic graphics, the simple sound effects and the missing music could be tolerated for a well playing game but sadly Bug Hunt fails in this aspect. The aiming is way off, the hit boxes doesn't seem to move along the sprites, and the game has trouble finding its screen position in general. Overall the game largely reminds me of the 1993 game Cyber Monster which I reviewed in episode 37.

The label on the cartridge looks cheerful and happy. I like it better than the artwork on the title screen.