Clean Sweep
Revision as of 13:23, 16 April 2024 by TheAlmightyGuru (talk | contribs)
Clean Sweep | ||||||||||||||
Arcade cabinet - USA. |
||||||||||||||
|
Clean Sweep is a seminal block breaker video game developed and published by Ramtek for the arcade in May 1974. The game uses TTL instead of a CPU and is one of the first video games, if not the very first, to use RAM to store the game state, and ROM to store graphics.
The objective of Clean Sweep is to eliminate all the dots on the screen by bouncing a ball around the screen with a paddle. Clearing all the dots earns you bonus points for getting a "clean sweep."
Contents
Personal
Own? | No. |
---|---|
Won? | No. As far as I know, the game doesn't have a win condition. |
While researching the ball and paddle genre of video games, I discovered this game and was eager to learn about it. Although it isn't very enjoyable, it's status as a pioneer makes it a very important game.
Review
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Best Version: Arcade
Good
- The game serves as a prototype for the block breaker genre of video game. Although it doesn't function exactly as later games would, they owe a lot to this game.
- By utilizing both RAM and ROM, the game was able to have more targets and more details graphics than most other games of the time.
- Drawing a rounded paddle helps the player more intuitively know how the ball will rebound off it.
Bad
- The paddle moves so quickly, it's pretty difficult to control.
- The ball's speed doesn't accelerate at a consistent manner, but instead frequently changes in speed after each hit. Sometimes this is based on the angle you return the ball, sometimes it's based on the number of dots, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious reason. Either way, it's harder to rebound.
- As it would become much clearer as the genre matured, as you clear out the dots, it becomes harder and harder to hit the remaining ones, so, the final stages of the game is usually just you rebounding the ball over and over and hitting nothing resulting in boring game play.
Ugly
- There isn't much to this game. If you're able to clear all the dots, the game just immediately draws a new set. There is no fanfare for clearing them, you just get a slight score bonus.
- The game is media challenged. The display is monochromatic, the sound is just beeps, and even the cabinet art is dull.
Media
Cabinet Art
Documentation
Screenshots
Videos
Representation
Strong female character? | Fail | There are no characters. |
---|---|---|
Bechdel test? | Fail | There are no characters. |
Strong person of color character? | Fail | There are no characters. |
Queer character? | Fail | There are no characters. |
Credits
Role | Staff |
---|---|
Entire Game (Uncreditied) | Howell Ivy |
Titles
Language | Native | Transliteration | Translation |
---|---|---|---|
English (Canada) | Flip-Out | ||
English (USA) | Clean Sweep | ||
Japanese (IPM) | PT スターダスト | Suta Dasuto | PT Stardust |
Japanese (Universal) | スターラブ | Suta Rabu | Star Rub |
Links
- arcade-museum.com/Videogame/clean-sweep - Arcade Museum.
Categories:
- Video Games
- 1974 Video Games
- Video games developed by Ramtek
- Video games published by Ramtek
- Video games published by Volley Industries
- Arcade Games
- Video Game Genre - Ball and paddle
- Video Game Genre - Block breaker
- Multiplayer
- Multiplayer Alternating versus
- Software Distribution Model - Commercial
- Video Games I Don't Own
- Video Games That Can't Be Beaten
- Video Game Rating - 1
- Video Game Graphics Rating - 1
- Video Game Sound Rating - 1
- Video games without a strong female character
- Video games that fail the Bechdel test
- Video games without a strong person of color character
- Video games without a queer character
- Video Game Prime Order - Action, Strategy, Adventure
- Monochrome Graphics