|
Sentinel
Name:
|
Sentinel |
|
Company: |
Atari |
Model #:
|
CX-26183 |
Programmers:
|
David Lubar |
Year: |
1990 |
Released?
|
Yes
|
Notes:
|
One of two 2600 games to
utilize the Atari light gun |
Starting in late 1989 Atari started dabbling in light gun based games.
For a short time light gun games were all the rage on the NES, but
this craze died off rather quickly. Still, Atari wanted to prove
that the 2600 remained a force to be reckoned with, so light gun games
it was. Amazingly both of the light gun games developed for the
2600 are actually quite good (especially considering the fact that the
hardware was over 13 years old at that point). However of the two
games that were made (Shooting Arcade and Sentinel) only Sentinel was
released.

Sentinel is a shooting game that plays like a side scrolling version
of Crossbow. However where as in Crossbow you had several people
to protect as they walked across the screen, Sentinel only has one large
orb you have to protect. As your orb (known as The Sentinel) moves
steadily across the enemy planet, it will be under attack by numerous
small aliens. You goal is to protect the Sentinel from getting hit at
all costs. However given the speed of the aliens and inaccuracy
of the light gun, this isn't an easy task.

The Sentinel was built to absorb all the energy from the
alien planet (sort of like that Crystalline Entity from Star Trek). This
is accomplished by shooting the enemies on the screen. Enemies in
Sentinel come in two flavors, air enemies and ground enemies. Air
enemies will either attempt to ram the Sentinel or will hang back a short
distance and shoot bullets. Ground enemies will always stop and
shoot at the Sentinel. Accurately shooting all the enemies on the
screen as quickly as possible is the key winning this game, as the longer
you let the enemies congregate the quicker you will be overwhelmed. If
things begin to get out of hand you can shoot the Sentinel itself to set
off a super bomb which will destroy all the enemies on the screen. The
super bomb can only be used when the "S" meter at the bottom
of the screen is at 99.

As you progress deeper into each level you will begin running
across power ups. Power ups appear as odd looking square boxes that
fly at the Sentinel. Shooting these boxes will give you one of these
bonuses:
Energy Pod |
Circles and protects the Sentinel |
Super Shot |
Destroys all the enemies on the screen |
Automatic Shots |
Causes the Sentinel to automatically absorb energy
(no shooting required) |
Movement |
Allows the Sentinel to move up and down faster |
Energy Capsule |
Increases the Sentinels energy (max of 50) |

One thing that sets Sentinel apart from other 2600 game
is the inclusion of bosses. At the end of each of the four levels
you will run into a giant space station boss (the distance to the boss
is shown by the "D" meter at the bottom of the screen). The
boss will mercilessly pound you with bullets until you blast each of its
four pods. However since these pods will repair themselves if give
the opportunity, you must take them down with rapid shooting. Once
you destroy the boss, you'll move onto the next planet. Although
each planet and boss looks slightly different, they all have a mysterious
similarity to them.

Sentinel is one of the better 2600 games out there, and
is quite unique with its light gun style gameplay and large end level
bosses. Unfortunately groundbreaking games like Sentinel came too
late in the 2600's lifespan to make any noticeable impact (Sentinel carries
a copyright of 1990!). By 1990 most people were either die hard
NES or SMS fans, and new 2600 releases often went unnoticed. Still,
Sentinel proves that the 2600 was a very flexible platform and could be
forced into doing great things if properly motivated.
Version |
Cart Text |
Description |
?-??-90 |
Sentinel PAL |
Final PAL version |
Return
to 2600 Software
|