Barnyard Blaster

Name:	Barnyard Blaster
Company:	Atari
Model #:	CX-7859
Programmer:	David Barbour  (ICC)
Year:	1988
Released?	Yes
Notes:	Rednecks not included

Gramps has bought the farm... literally!  You and your grandfather have decided to buy a quiet little farm to get away from the stress of city life.  However it appears that Gramps should have shopped a little more carefully, because this farm is overrun with all kinds of nasty vermin!  Now it's up to you and your trusty gun to eliminate all the pests and save Gramps farm.

Barnyard Blaster was part of the second wave of games Atari released for the 7800 in an attempt to boost the number of titles available for the system.  Unfortunately Barnyard Blaster wasn't anything special, this target shooting game was simply library filler, and average filler at that...

Barnyard Blaster consists of three static screens of target shooting.  As the name suggests, the action takes place on a farm, and the environments and targets reflect this.

The Barnyard

This is the first screen you will encounter.  The Barnyard is really just a warm-up for things to come, as all the targets are non-moving and relatively easy to hit.  The main feature of this screen is a large fence with several bottles lined up on it.  Take aim and shoot as many as you can before you run out of ammo.  If you're feeling particularly lucky you can take a pot shot or two at the gopher which hides behind the tree.

The Cornfield

As you may have guessed, the action on this screen takes place in a big cornfield.  Here you'll aim at watermelons, pumpkins, crows, and rabbits.  This screen has a little catch however, you must shoot all the veggies before you can move onto the moving critters

The Barn

Finally a real challenge, this screen contains nothing but moving targets!  This barn is infested with everything from ducks to mice, so take aim and shoot to kill.  Pay special attention to the birds which swoop down from the rafters, as they can be especially unpredictable.

The Bonus Round

What shooting game would be complete without a bonus round?  Here Gramps will begin to throw bottles into the air for no apparent reason (perhaps he emptied all those bottles himself?).  After Gramps throw 10 bottles, the round will end and you'll be taken back to the first screen again.  Oh and just in case you were thinking about it, shooting Gramps ends the bonus round (and Gramps gets a trip to the emergency room).

After the game ends you will be given a rank based on how well (or poorly) you did.  Ranks range from Total Dud to Blaster, with several humorous ranks in-between (what other game do you know where you can be given the rank of Red Neck or Terminator?).  While it may not be anything special, this ranking system adds some fun to an otherwise dull game.

While it won't win any awards for gameplay or originality, Barnyard Blaster is an adequate game that filled in the 'shooting game' gap in the 7800 library.  Barnyard Blaster is also one of the few games to make use of the lightgun (Sentinel, Meltdown, and Crossbow are the others).  The lightgun (which was actually designed for the XE), works fairly well for this title, and is usually pretty accurate.  But even accurate controls can't save this game from being duller than it should be.  Perhaps Atari should have taken a cue from Nintendo and their wonderful line-up of shooting games.  Barnyard Blaster is just another example of why the 7800 lagged behind the SMS and NES.

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