Release Date: 1982
Publisher: US Games
Controller: Paddles
Players: 1 – 4
Genre: Arcade
Alternate Title: N/A
Model #: VC2003
Rarity: 4
Programmer: Todd Marshall / Wes Trager / Henrey Will IV
Eggomania is a solid Kaboom! inspired game that provides a nice little twist.
The setup sounds like something thrown together by throwing throwing darts at a wall filled with random things. You control a large blue bear who has done something to anger a giant turkey that is patrolling the top of the screen. The ticked off fowl has declared war upon you, and is dropping a constant stream of eggs in your general direction. The only way your bear can survive is to catch the eggs in a large hat.
Most games in this genre only allow you to secure whatever object is headed your way, however in a nice role reversal twist, between each round you get the chance to attack your attacker. As you catch the final egg, the turkey goes into panic mode and begins sprinting from side to side as you rocket them back up towards her. If you land a direct hit, the fowl takes a flight up to heaven, you get some points and if there is any yolk on the floor it gets cleaned up a bit.
Most games in this genre are fairly light hearted when it comes to the consequences of missing a falling item, Eggomania however is downright brutal. Whenever an egg hits the floor, the level of yolk rises a notch, forcing you to wade through a sticky mess. As you miss more eggs, the level continues to rise, until it drowns you. This does add a certain level of creeping dread, plus I can’t imagine that would be a pleasant way to go.
The gameplay variations are extremely slim, with the only thing you are able to change is the size of your hat (and even that is done via the difficulty switches). Other than that everything else is pretty straightforward. The action grows from steady to frantic at a nice pace, the controls are tight, and there are several nice musical interludes that pop up. If you are looking for a Kaboom! alternative and have always wanted to fling eggs at turkeys, this is a solid option.
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Derek began playing video games in the early 80s, cutting his teeth on every Atari 2600 game he could get his hands on. This kickstarted a lifelong love of games, which continues to this day. No matter how advanced the systems and games become, the love for Atari remains supreme, which is why the Atari 2600 Encyclopedia project was done. With this massive project completed, Derek looks to begin work on another system encyclopedia, hoping to pay tribute to the games that shaped his childhood.
