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Klax
Name:
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Klax |
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Company: |
Atari |
Model #:
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CX-26192 |
Programmer:
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Steve DeFrisco |
Year: |
1990 |
Released?
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Yes
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Notes:
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Was only released in PAL
format. Only 10 NTSC prototypes are known to exist. |
Klax has the honor of being the last 2600 game
to be developed and released. It was released so late in fact that
it only made it out overseas in PAL format. Several years ago Best
Electronics uncovered nine NTSC prototypes that proved to be the final
version. This proves that Atari was planning on releasing it in
the US but the crumbling 2600 market made them rethink their decision.
It's a shame that we never got to see Klax in the United States, because
it's one of the best games on the 2600.
For a 2600 game Klax is very impressive, it mimics
its arcade counterpart quite well only losing the detailed backgrounds
and the digitized speech. It's amazing that a machine from 1977
could emulate a game from 1989 so well.

Klax is a puzzle game along the same lines as Dr. Mario and Columns.
Colored blocks come down the conveyer belt at the top of the screen; you
must grab these blocks with your player and drop them into the bin below.
If you line up three blocks of the same color you score a "Klax" (hence
the name of the game). Klaxes can be scored horizontally, vertically,
or diagonally, and each type is worth a different amount of points. Depending
on the type of wave your goal is one of the following:
Klax Wave - You need to complete a certain number of Klaxes (verticals) |
Diagonal Wave - You need to complete a certain number of Diagonals |
Horizontal Wave - You need to complete a certain number of Horizontals |
Point Wave - You must score a certain number of points |
Tile Wave - You must survive a certain number of tiles |

Your player can only hold six tiles, after that they will begin to fall
off. If you don't want a particular tile you can temporarily throw
it back by pressing up, but eventually it will come back down the conveyer.
Every time a tile falls off a miss counter lights up, when all your
miss counters are lit up it's game over. To help you in your task
occasionally you will get a special glowing tile, this tile is a wild
card and can be used for any color. Use these tiles wisely as they
are few and far between.

One of the most impressive things about Klax on the 2600 is that it
has continue feature, this allows you to see the higher levels where the
action get really intense. Klax is one of the few 2600 games to
allow continues, and shows how far the 2600 had come since its early days.
It's simply amazing the amount of features Steve managed to cram into
a 16K cart. Klax is truly one of the most impressive games ever
to grace the 2600.
Version |
Cart Text |
Description |
6/14/90 |
2600 Klax 6/14/90 |
Nearly complete, has the Atari logo and
copyright |
8/18/90 |
Klax 8/18/90 |
Final version, but is in NTSC format |
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