Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female player base. The player defends against swarms of insects, completing a round after eliminating the centipede that winds down the playing field.
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(9-year-old's review, typed by his dad)
I love Centipede. There's evil bugs that spawn mushrooms, and spiders fly all over the screen like boing boing boing boing. Better controls on the arcade machine, the ball kind of reminds me of like those top-down fighters, like top-down shooters. I don't know, it feels like top-down shooters should use that. Where you're like a little plane and try to shoot other planes.
I love Centipede. There's evil bugs that spawn mushrooms, and spiders fly all over the screen like boing boing boing boing. Better controls on the arcade machine, the ball kind of reminds me of like those top-down fighters, like top-down shooters. I don't know, it feels like top-down shooters should use that. Where you're like a little plane and try to shoot other planes.
I thought it was decently fun
Well... it's better than Space Invaders.
Centipede 1980 | Atari 2600
1-interacción: 5.4
2-mundo/apartado artístico: 6.1
3-concepto: 5.9
4-puesta en escena: 4.2
5-narración: -
6-sonido/apartado sonoro: 4.7
7-jugabilidad: 6.7
8-historia: -
9-duración/ritmo: 7.2
10-impacto: 6.6
7.2
6.7
6.6
6.1
5.9
5.4
37.9/60pts
63 promedio
1-interacción: 5.4
2-mundo/apartado artístico: 6.1
3-concepto: 5.9
4-puesta en escena: 4.2
5-narración: -
6-sonido/apartado sonoro: 4.7
7-jugabilidad: 6.7
8-historia: -
9-duración/ritmo: 7.2
10-impacto: 6.6
7.2
6.7
6.6
6.1
5.9
5.4
37.9/60pts
63 promedio
One of the very first games I played as a kid and still play it at 32 and still get the same kick out of it as I did back then. One of the early essences of shooters and even if it gets frustrating, I still am having a blast. That’s a true game right there imo. Instant classic.
I'm not sure how many times I've played Centipede, but in the last couple months I've been playing it again in the Atari 50 package. I wanted to at least get back to where I was regularly hitting another credit and topping the default leaderboard. It's kinda nice to once again be confident that I could put my initials up on a machine that gets restarted every night.
Centipede is an excellent early arcade game. I think that some of the ways that it uses randomness are probably still textbook today, or at least they should be. The way the board becomes increasingly dense in interactions between the player and the centipedes is a good way for complexity to emerge. The fun, as I see it, is in managing that complexity for as long as possible. The additional obstacles of jumping spiders and dive-bombing beetles that further gum up the works also require more on-the-fly adjustments.
It's a well-designed game that's just tricky enough to reward repeated attempts as players get to grips with the strategy of it. I can't see myself wanting to truly master it, but I understand how it could get its hooks in.
Centipede is an excellent early arcade game. I think that some of the ways that it uses randomness are probably still textbook today, or at least they should be. The way the board becomes increasingly dense in interactions between the player and the centipedes is a good way for complexity to emerge. The fun, as I see it, is in managing that complexity for as long as possible. The additional obstacles of jumping spiders and dive-bombing beetles that further gum up the works also require more on-the-fly adjustments.
It's a well-designed game that's just tricky enough to reward repeated attempts as players get to grips with the strategy of it. I can't see myself wanting to truly master it, but I understand how it could get its hooks in.