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The Top 25 Video Game Villains of Every Subtype Imaginable
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<blockquote data-quote="CC13" data-source="post: 63139" data-attributes="member: 1151"><p>That's the one! Just for future reference, please provide the name of the villain as well as the game he's from for full credit in the future (you'll get full credit this time, though). Here goes entry #19!</p><p></p><p>19. The Mad Bomber (Kaboom!)</p><p>Developed & Published By: Activision</p><p>Platform: Atari 2600</p><p>Year of Release: 1981</p><p></p><p>Activison do not enjoy a great deal of respect amongst most core gamers. Their reputation in such circles is so bad that when Sony blamed them for the non-appearance of Crash Bandicoot in PlayStation All-Stars, everybody immediately turned their wrath from Sony to Activision. This distaste is not without reason—Activision are often the very model of everything wrong with large video game publishers, what with their endless milking of tired franchises, insulting IAPs and intrusive DRM. However, most gamers have forgotten that this was not always what came to mind when thinking of Activision.</p><p></p><p>In 1979, David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead left Atari after their requests for royalties and prominent featuring of their names on the boxes of the games they designed were rebuffed. This actually paved the way for the establishment of the very concept of third-party publishing on home consoles, as Atari and the newly formed Activision engaged in legal wrangling over their founders' departure that lasted until 1982. However, that wrangling didn't stop Activision from releasing classic games like Barnstorming, Ice Hockey and, of course, Kaboom! in the interim.</p><p></p><p>The gameplay for Kaboom! couldn't be simpler. The Mad Bomber will toss bombs down from the top of the screen and you have to catch them in one of three buckets under your control. You lose one every time you miss, but get a replacement every 1,000 points. The longer you go without missing, the faster both The Mad Bomber and his payloads get. If you lasted long enough to get 3,000 points back in the day, you could send in your score to get a Bucket Brigade patch and membership in the Activision Bucket Brigade, while somehow scoring 10,000 points would make The Mad Bomber continue to frown even if you missed a bomb (he normally frowns during normal gameplay and smiles when you drop a bomb).</p><p></p><p>Activision catch a lot of flack today for very good reasons, but the positive influence their first incarnation had on the video game industry cannot be denied. By leaving to found Activision, its founders (who accounted for over 50% of all Atari 2600 cartridges moved prior to their departure) proved that the people behind a game mattered at least as much as the brand from which it issued. In addition, Activision blazed trails in interaction with players with their innovative program of rewarding exceptional scorers with special patches specific to each of their games. Even as we fight against Activision's overreaches now, let us not even contemplate what the world of console gaming would have been like without them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Next Time on The Top 25 Pre-1991 Western Arcade & Console Game Villains</strong>: When Kelly's on the beat, crime never pays!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CC13, post: 63139, member: 1151"] That's the one! Just for future reference, please provide the name of the villain as well as the game he's from for full credit in the future (you'll get full credit this time, though). Here goes entry #19! 19. The Mad Bomber (Kaboom!) Developed & Published By: Activision Platform: Atari 2600 Year of Release: 1981 Activison do not enjoy a great deal of respect amongst most core gamers. Their reputation in such circles is so bad that when Sony blamed them for the non-appearance of Crash Bandicoot in PlayStation All-Stars, everybody immediately turned their wrath from Sony to Activision. This distaste is not without reason—Activision are often the very model of everything wrong with large video game publishers, what with their endless milking of tired franchises, insulting IAPs and intrusive DRM. However, most gamers have forgotten that this was not always what came to mind when thinking of Activision. In 1979, David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead left Atari after their requests for royalties and prominent featuring of their names on the boxes of the games they designed were rebuffed. This actually paved the way for the establishment of the very concept of third-party publishing on home consoles, as Atari and the newly formed Activision engaged in legal wrangling over their founders' departure that lasted until 1982. However, that wrangling didn't stop Activision from releasing classic games like Barnstorming, Ice Hockey and, of course, Kaboom! in the interim. The gameplay for Kaboom! couldn't be simpler. The Mad Bomber will toss bombs down from the top of the screen and you have to catch them in one of three buckets under your control. You lose one every time you miss, but get a replacement every 1,000 points. The longer you go without missing, the faster both The Mad Bomber and his payloads get. If you lasted long enough to get 3,000 points back in the day, you could send in your score to get a Bucket Brigade patch and membership in the Activision Bucket Brigade, while somehow scoring 10,000 points would make The Mad Bomber continue to frown even if you missed a bomb (he normally frowns during normal gameplay and smiles when you drop a bomb). Activision catch a lot of flack today for very good reasons, but the positive influence their first incarnation had on the video game industry cannot be denied. By leaving to found Activision, its founders (who accounted for over 50% of all Atari 2600 cartridges moved prior to their departure) proved that the people behind a game mattered at least as much as the brand from which it issued. In addition, Activision blazed trails in interaction with players with their innovative program of rewarding exceptional scorers with special patches specific to each of their games. Even as we fight against Activision's overreaches now, let us not even contemplate what the world of console gaming would have been like without them. [B]Next Time on The Top 25 Pre-1991 Western Arcade & Console Game Villains[/B]: When Kelly's on the beat, crime never pays! [/QUOTE]
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