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Oystron - Atari 2600

Oystron - Atari 2600

$30.00
$30.00
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"In the Irata solar system lies the planet Stella. It is surrounded by an energy belt. In this belt there live space oysters. They make good food, so there are other outer space creatures living among them, that eat the oysters..."

Oystron started life as an exercise in Atari 2600 programming regarding how to reuse a sprite to put more objects on the screen. It eventually morphed into a game that borrows elements of Sinistar, Defender, and Rip-Off. Your objective in Oystron is to shoot the Space Oysters and convert them to pearls, collecting the pearls and then depositing them into the Pearls Zone. Enemies will attempt to steal the pearls once they reach the left edge of the screen, so you must act quickly!

Near the end of each level the Oystron Phase begins, where the Oystron enters the screen and you must kill him by dropping bombs, trying not to let him get away. The game also includes a Warp Phase, where you travel at high speed between Space Oysters and enemies.

Supports both NTSC and PAL television formats. Includes cartridge and manual.

Author Piero Cavina
Number of Players 1
Controller Joystick
Cartridge Size 4K
Label Design Piero Cavina

Customer Reviews

Based on 9 reviews
78%
(7)
22%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
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0%
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c
chris folkerts
Review

This game is a lot of fun. It\'s a well-conceived game that seems to take full advantage of all of the 2600\'s color capabilities. Good for a quick play or an extended gaming session. Comes complete with corny backstory!

n
nuggetPRich
Review

Great game. This is a 2600 game that has a real learning curve. Complexity in a game that is so simple is the genius of it. My Rating 5!

C
Christopher Oldham
Review

This game is a lot of fun and well made. The concept is easy. I love the back and forth movement of the on screen shooter. I will say, it ramps up quickly and gets difficult. The hardest part is that the ship seems to have some inertia to makes it a little hard to get used to.

The tectures/colors are well done for the 2600 TIA chip. And it is challenging. It's not a top favorite but easily in the top 30 of all 2600 games I own.

M
Mark Hinds
Review

Highly addictive spaceship shooter. The enemies come in three waves. The idea is to collect the 'pearls' left when an enemy is destroyed and to place them in rows. Each row that you complete earns you an additional bomb, to use during the third wave when the 'Oystron' appears. You place each bomb as you would a mine. Hitting the Fire button plants one of these mines. The idea is to place it where you think the 'Oystron' will go. Your ship can carry a maximum of 6 bombs at a time. Colliding with an enemy will end this wave, but the progress bar (bottom left) will be at a point close to triggering wave 3 all over again. So if you are out of bombs quickly collect enough 'Pearls' to form a row and do so. Destroying the 'Oystron will end wave 3, and then wave 1 will repeat at a greater difficulty etc.

There are three difficulty settings:
GAME 1: Beginner
GAME 2: Intermediate
GAME 3: Expert

There are enemies that can steal all of the 'Pearls' in a row. READ THE MANUAL. Be very careful of the enemies that resemble a Roman numeral 3. They can and do change lanes. They will even skip over one or more lanes in order to collide with you. When they reach the far left of the screen they will reverse course. Destroy them if you can, but be advised that if you do so it will anger them and they will return quickly and come for you.

Highly Recommended for shooter fans!

WARNING!: Wave 3 features extreme flashing throughout the wave. This may trigger a seizure in epileptics.

S
StanJr
Review

Oystron is a fun and engaging space shooter for the Atari 2600. It features a novel concept with intriguing and challenging gameplay. It takes a few minutes to fully comprehend what is going on, but once you get the hang of collecting pearls and fending off the bad guys, you'll be having fun in no time. Just be forewarned about the completely disorienting and psychologically jarring Oystron phase. If you are even slightly set off by flashing lights, you may want to give this game a pass. What happens during the Oystron phase is very similar to what happens to Alex in A Clockwork Orange. But if you can make it through that with your wits intact there is much to enjoy about Oystron. Don't be wary just because it's one of the earliest homebrews out there!

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