Comments on: Master Kick & Jack BBQ Games Updated

Industry Entertainment has updated two of their popular game titles. Master Kick, a foosball game, and Jack or 100 Ways to Barbecue, a "jump & run" platformer filled with brain teasers.

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Tried the Jack BBQ demo...(micr-review/first impressions)

hkklife @ 3/7/2006 12:07:37 AM # Q
Well, I must say, Jack's been improved A LOT since I tried this game way back in the T|T2 days or so. That said, it's still a pretty simplistic platform game. It's reminiscent of a hybrid of Lode Runner (without the hole drilling), Solomon's Key (without the puzzles), and Prince of Persia (without the acrobatic leaps & swordplay). In all fairness, while I love games like this on the console systems, it's just not that compelling of a game for the Palm. There's no "shootin'" either! Just lots of jumping & key collecting!

Something like a proper Sonic the Hedgehog port needs to be done for POS. That'd make a great killer app to bundle with a Z22 type device. People would see it and say "Wow, this thing plays REAL games!"

All of the above notwithstanding, it's nice to see that FrankenGarnet and the unaccelerated Palm hardware of today can pull off games like this and emulators like LJP. 320*480 support in an "action" title and a digitized soundtrack are just icing on the cake. Really, though, until someone comes up with a compelling button/d-pad arrangement and /or POS drivers for a BT gamepad, there's not much future in the platform for fast action or arcade titles.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX

RE: Tried the Jack BBQ demo...(micr-review/first impressions)
Admin @ 3/7/2006 1:20:23 AM # Q
Something like sonic? Get Little John Palm or remember sega actually released a few game gear emu port's including a sonic game a few years ago for palm os:

http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/5232/sega-releases-5-classic-games-for-os-5/

-Ryan

RE: Tried the Jack BBQ demo...(micr-review/first impressions)
hkklife @ 3/7/2006 1:55:10 AM # Q
The Palm Sonic game (all of the titles, actually) were just old GameGear ports ( NOT the Genesis originals!) running under a (bad) Z80 emulator. Pitiful that a 400mhz T|C couldn't run Sonic as fast as an old 3.5mhz Z80 GG did in 1992! Sound was choppy too on anything below a T|C or T3.

Those titles also do not like NVFS/FrankenGarnet devices or the "Treo" style navigation/button remappings on newer devices (T5/LD/TX/Treo 650 etc). That's why I said a "proper Sonic port" in my review above ;-)

LJP is a fantastic title but the whole ROM scene is of murky legality...if nothing else, Bejeweled should just come standard on all new Palm devices.


Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX

RE: Tried the Jack BBQ demo...(micr-review/first impressions)
freakout @ 3/7/2006 3:51:31 AM # Q
"Something like a proper Sonic the Hedgehog port needs to be done for POS."

Oh, god yes!!!! How I love that spiky blue hedgehog...

I remember how bitter my disappointment was when I tried to play that poorly-emulated Gamegear Sonic on my Treo. Especially 'cause I already *have* a Gamegear.

It's surprising Palm still bother to promote "SEGA Classics" on their website. They must piss off a lot of people when they find out the latest Palms can't even run these "classics" at a decent framerate.

Have you tried any of the Palm Gameboy emulators, hk? If so, how well do they run on a Treo?

This sig is a placeholder till I come up with something good

any1 kno where i can find what's new in this version?
ackmondual @ 3/7/2006 3:34:22 PM # Q
My last version, IIRC was v1.51. One upgrade that was helpful was the dev fixed the problem of weapons (excluding the knife) not firing with the center button. Any1 know what new features are in v1.52?

And yeah, this is a well done game that can surprisingly support multiple platforms and soo many screen resolutions. As i'll always say, updates are always good so long it doesn't compromise what we had before. Which also reminds me, I never finished the last level of this game. Hopefully, my save data is still there. Otherwise, I wouldn't be too upset if I had to replay back to level 5 again.

Interesting to note hi-res+ is not (no longer?) advertised. That's good to kno since hi-res+ is just hi-res but stretched to fit the wider/taller screen. Never mind it looks UGLY, but my T|T3 handles landscape gaming inferiorly that it's noticeably slower than in hi-res.

~~~
Final note, if ya like this game, then DEFINATELY try out SP by N.I. Games. The graphics in that may only be NES like graphics as opposed to Jack BBQ's SNES looks, but SP (based off of Spelunker for NES/famicom) is one hell of a game on it's own. Even better, it's still freeware! No hi-res support, but it will run on grayscale and B&W (2-color) devices as well.

get it here....
http://park15.wakwak.com/~n_i/pm/menu.html
feel free to contact me if ya need help for SP.

"Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake? Anyone can make an error, but that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
-Grand Admiral Thrawn

the secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse

My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71 --> Tungsten T3 (with 4 of 6 screws still remaining) ~?~> zodiac 2?

RE: Tried the Jack BBQ demo...(micr-review/first impressions)
ackmondual @ 3/7/2006 8:38:46 PM # Q
Nevermind. They emailed me the latest version this evening with the version history file included:

JACK OR 100 WAYS TO BARBECUE
version history
---------------


v1.5.2 [4.Mart.2006]
======
NEW: When the game lost the focus it automaticaly pauses,
eg. when you turn off the screen on Treo game pauses.
CHANGED: Dedicated button for pausing the game
FIXED: Now fullscreen on Palm LifeDrive and Palm TX
FIXED: Third level fix

v1.5.1 [26.Oct.2004]
======
FIXED: Shoot button (for fireweapons) didn't work on all devices with D-Pad 5 way navigator.

v1.5.0 [23.Oct.2004]
======
NEW: 100% ARM enhanced and optimized version
NEW: Digital music and sound effects [ powered by MODULA audio engine http://modula.indus3.org ]
NEW: Optimized versions for variety of screen resolutions
[ 160x160, 240x240, 240x320, 320x240, 320x320, 320x480, 480x320 pixels... ]



"Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake? Anyone can make an error, but that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
-Grand Admiral Thrawn

the secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse

My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71 --> Tungsten T3 (with 4 of 6 screws still remaining) ~?~> zodiac 2?

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Jack rules!

ptc @ 3/7/2006 1:05:52 PM # Q
I played Jack through a few years ago on my T|T. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Really fun game, good puzzles with getting keys in a required order to open up different maps. You CAN get a pistol and shoot some things, but this isn't an integral part of the game.

I hope Industry releases additional levels. Supposedly they made some new Jack levels, but never released them b/c the focus on Masterkick...


_________
Paul C.

Try SP!!
ackmondual @ 3/7/2006 4:49:57 PM # Q
http://park15.wakwak.com/~n_i/pm/menu.html

If you don't mind NES graphics, but have a strong sense and curiosity in exploration, PLAY THIS GAME :) Similar in concept to Jack BBQ. Those of you old schoolers will know this is based off of Spelunker for NES/famicom

It's freeware and only 60 something KB.

RE: Jack rules!
ptc @ 3/7/2006 5:22:59 PM # Q
Ack - thanks for the tip - I'll download and give it a go!
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6 titles I'd like to see....

hkklife @ 3/7/2006 2:35:06 PM # Q
resurrected & enhanced to max out the capabilities of POS (non-Zodiac devices, that is)


1. Tetris. We need BT multiplayer, digital sound, proper 5-way support and 320*480 resolution with different game modes etc. Klax gets a nod here as well.

2. Lode Runner. This also needs to be brought up to speed with modern graphics and sounds. Very addictive gameplay.

3. Prince of Persia. See above. A natural, what with its simplistic but fluid animation and slower paced gameplay.

4. Tempest. The greatest shooter....ever. A port of Tempest 2000 from a few years (soundtrack & all) would be stunning and easily possible on HVGA Palms.

5. Ms. Pac Man & Galaga. I know we have various hacks/ports already out there but they are all very underwhelming. A properly done release from a real developer with full screen support would be amazing. The whole stable of Namco classics would be greatly appreciated as well.

6. A collection of classic Sierra/LucasArts graphic adventure titles. Yes, yes, I know that ScummVM exists but again, questionable legal issues and a sometimes less-than-perfect polish. Make a few optimizations for the handheld experience and it's be great. Broken Sword was a stunning (albeit overpriced) step forward for POS gaming and it'd be nice to see the classics legitimately resurrected and putting some $ in the IP holders' pockets.


BTW, I consider a completely authentic port of Doom & the "Namco games" the baseline benchmark for mobile entertainment. Doom's not included here due to the numerous control issues with the button-challenged Palms.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX

RE: 6 titles I'd like to see....
ackmondual @ 3/7/2006 3:54:43 PM # Q
Some problems with your picks. Overall, with GBA, DS, and PSP in full force, those will forever be the primary handheld gaming platforms. Although the games cost more, some do give you your $$'s worth. The handhelds themselves are MUCH cheaper and they have a strong game dev force behind them.

1. If i ever get into pOS development again, hi-res+ tetris is back on my list. I don't know if IR would cut it, but that would increase the "player pool" since all Palm's have it. Else, BT's flexibility and the fact that a modern, decent handheld these days has it shouldn't be too big of a concern.

2. LRstd is freeware for Palm. If you can find it, it's a B&W version that's quite similar to the arcade/NES version in terms of gameplay and control, altho i believe the levels are of different design

3. Eh, there's Flashback at the very least. It's PoP with guns and a sci-fi theme. It runs fine on my zod, but never bothered to try it with my T|T3, in where zDoom didn't work. Still farcry tho yes. Legal issues, getting the DOS version of Flashback, or just emulating it or other PoP games or clones.

5. "Full screen" as in hi-res+? I think that's the only way, as IIRC, those classics on the arcade machines were actually played on portrait oriented screens... even with the border and information to the sides. At least that's what I thought the reason was for not using the sides in hi-res and low-res screens.

6. It's hard to port DOS games to Palm, at least that's what i keep hearing, so that should explain why we're not seeing this. It's probably not worth LucasArt's while to go with this. Eh, one could dream and hope for anyways :D

"Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake? Anyone can make an error, but that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
-Grand Admiral Thrawn

the secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse

My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71 --> Tungsten T3 (with 4 of 6 screws still remaining) ~?~> zodiac 2?

RE: 6 titles I'd like to see....
ptc @ 3/7/2006 5:28:06 PM # Q
hkklife

Tempest had such a unique control scheme in the arcade (the dial) I think it would be pretty hard to mimic on a Palm. Phenominal game though.

I'm holding out for a port of Dragon's Lair. Impossible probably, but I sure loved that game...

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