Kaboom!

Kaboom!

Atari 2600 - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Activision Publisher Activision Published 1981-07-?? Platforms Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit Genres Action, Ball and paddle, Catcher, Single-screen Themes Law enforcement Multiplayer Alternating versus Distribution Commercial

Kaboom! is a catcher video game developed and published by Activision in 1981 on the Atari 2600, and in 1983 for the Atari 8-bit and Atari 5200.

The game has a planned game over at 999,999 points.

Despite pretty repetitive game play, the game sold around a million copies putting it among the top 30 best selling titles on the Atari 2600.

Personal

Own?	Yes. Atari 2600 cartridge and manual.
Won?	No. The game doesn't have a proper ending, but it does have a planned game over at 999,999 points.

The second batch of Atari games I bought from my friend in middle school had a copy of this game. I played it for a little while, found it quite dull, and gave up on it. I have never even come close to reaching the planned game over at 999,999 points.

Review

2	3	2	2	2

Best Version: Atari 8-bit

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The premise is cute, and the mad bomber graphic is pretty good.

Bad

• Losing a bucket makes the game harder.

Ugly

• The game's difficulty tops out at level 8, which only takes about 1 minute to reach, and, after that, you're just playing the same level over and over again until you lose, or, you hit the planned game over with a score of 999,999, which takes over 3 hours.

Media

Box Art

• 

  Kaboom! - 2600 - USA.

• 

  Kaboom! - 2600 - USA - Revision 2.

• 

  Kaboom! - Atari 8-bit.

• 

  Kaboom! - 5200 - USA.

Documentation

• 

  Manual - Atari 2600 - USA.

• 

  Manual - Atari 8-bit - USA.

• 

  Manual - Atari 5200 - USA.

• 

  Megamaniacs patch.

Screenshots

• 

  Playing level 2.

Videos

Commercial.

Longplay - 2600.

Game play - Atari 8-bit.

Game play - 5200.

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	There are no women.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are no women.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There are no people of color.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Ports

Port	Released	Porter	Publisher	Notes
Atari 2600	1981-07-??	Activision	Activision	Original release.
Atari 8-bit	1983-10-??	Activision	Activision	More detailed graphics.
Atari 5200	1983-11-??	Activision	Activision	Nearly identical to the 5200 port.

Credits

Role	Staff
Design	Larry Kaplan
Programming (Atari 2600)	Larry Kaplan
Programming (Atari 8-bit and 5200)	Paul Willson
Graphics	David Crane

Links

           

• atariage.com/software_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=630 - AtariAge - 5200.