The Colecovision Buyer's Guide

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Publisher: Coleco
Year Released: 1983

Why You Need It: Feeling any love for Berserk? If so, then definitely pick up this sequel. The game expands the entirety of Berserk, adding walls that reflect or crumble under a laser blast. But extras like this only bolster the already playable core. You are a lone human stuck in a labyrinth full of slow-moving, punishing robots. You must zip from screen to screen, clearing a path through the robots lest they manage to somehow surround you like metallic zombies. Evil Otto, the bouncing smiley face from berserk, books a return engagement in Frenzy, too. And trust me, he does not like getting shot. Hitting him may buy a second of time, but then he juices up his speed and hunts you mercilessly. This is a great actioner for your Colecovision collection and another sterling arcade port.

Publisher: Coleco
Year Released: 1983

Why You Need It: Gorf takes the Space Invaders/Galaxian formula and expands on it, offer four different shooting screens. In the first level, you're blasting aliens that gradually drop to the bottom of the screen. It's just like Space Invaders, but if you see a shot that is obviously going to miss, you can fire again and abort the previous blast. The second screen is closer to Galaxian, with alien formations swooping toward your ship. The third screen offers a taste of Gyruss, with aliens that spring from a central point. The final screen is an attack on the alien mothership. You must shoot through your own shield and then land direct blows on the core of the mothership. After defeating the boss, you cycle back tot he first screen, but it's a whole lot harder. This is a tough-as-nails shooter and a great port of the arcade game. It's a worthy addition.

Jumpman Junior
Publisher: Epyx
Year Released: 1984

Why You Need It: Epyx was a great developer and Jumpman Junior is one of its finest games. The game obviously owes a considerable debt to Donkey Kong, as you do no shortage of girder-running. But there are so many cool, extra mechanics that make the game outrageously challenging. The goal is to collect a series of little red bombs perched around the screen. Ladders let you climb up and down, but certain ropes only let you climb up or down. This adds some real strategy to the game. The homing missiles are a gas, too. These bullets lazily float across the screen until you cross their path directly north or south. The missile then rockets toward you and you must jump out of the way. Jumpman enjoyed some good production values, such as the animation of the hero tumbling down the screen or the excellent music.

Miner 2049er
Publisher: Micro Fun
Year Released: 1982

Why You Need It: The Colecovision hosted its fair share of Donkey Kong reactions, such as the game directly above this entry... and the game directly below. However, a handful of those DK "clones" are quite playable. Miner 2049er is a clever platformer that changes you with scurrying across eleven mines. The goal is to step on every inch of real estate, turning the ground from striped to solid. Complicating matters are little mutants that patrol the mines, but the miner (Bounty Bob) can jump into mining gear that possesses the same power as Mario's hammer. For a few seconds after grabbing the gear, Bob can plow through the mutants and slide across the mines or chutes with relative immunity. Gravity is always a problem, though, and falling too far results in instant death. Well over 25 years later, Miner 2049er remains an excellent platformer that more gamers really need to check out.

Mr. Do's Castle
Publisher: Parker Bros.
Year Released: 1984

Why You Need It: Now, what were we saying about Donkey Kong knock-offs? The first Mr. Do cribbed from Dig-Dug, and this multi-tiered platformer definitely borrows from Donkey Kong. But it also looks over Lode Runner's should, too. Even if the game does steal concepts, it's still an enjoyable Colecovision game -- and it looks great, too. In order to open a door at the top of the tower, he must smash three keystones through the floor with his hammer. But monsters roaming the tower make that tricky, so he must also smack blocks on their heads from above or leave divots in the floor to catch them. It's a fast-paced platformer that holds up well, even if it does rely on copied concepts. Definitely one of the better Parker Bros. ports for the Colecovision.

Pepper II
Publisher: Exidy
Year Released: 1983

Why You Need It: Pepper II is kinda like Qix on rails -- and to be honest, I actually prefer it to Qix. The ultimate goal is to fill in sections of the screen by tracing lines that criss-cross the game field. There are pitchfork power-ups inside some of the sections and if you fill in the space on top of them, you turn invincible and can run through the enemies that slide across the trails. One of the best parts of Pepper II is that the game field is actually composed of four screens, each connected by Pac-Man-like exits at the edges of the field. It's a tough little game, but a good deal of fun -- and it has some great music, too. This is an easy find and should definitely be in the first batch of CV games you secure for your new library.

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