CONVERSION CAPERS

RETRO GAMER STUMBLES BACK HOME TO CHECK OUT HOW TAPPER FARED ON HOME SYSTEMS

AMSTRAD CPC

Tapper’s vibrant colours are present and correct in this Amstrad conversion, published by Sega/us Gold and Amsoft. The bar-related mayhem is well presented on the computer; alas the lack of control responsiveness makes it a little too frustrating. Sponsored by Pepsi, it’s a shame the speed is sacrificed; still, it looks nice and has the original Bud Tapper version of the barman.

APPLE II

This version is beautifully detailed, especially during its outside sports level, with a crisp blue sky overlooking a verdant field and its old-fashioned beer carts. Like most of the home conversions, it utilises a one-touch beer delivery system, although this supposedly more efficient method has a habit of sticking, resulting in many a spilled mug of beer. Not a bad effort on the ancient computer, but one of the weakest Tappers.

ATARI 2600

There’s a surprising amount of colour and detail to this Atari port of Tapper, and it plays well too. The bartender still zips around, but can only serve two beers at a time, which somewhat hampers the game’s momentum, as does the off-key tune. There are also no tips, but all four bars are present and it’s a good game, all things considered.

The kid-friendly Mountain Dew stands in for beer.

ATARI 8-BIT

The bartender whips the root beers down the bar in this Atari 8-bit game, and he moves around rather swiftly as well. While the colours are somewhat washed out – and the bonus game is stripped of the waiting barman and only has five cans – this is still a recognisable and entertaining port of the Bally Midway arcade game.

BBC MICRO

US Gold enlisted the help of BBC Micro specialists Micro Power to assist with this port and while it did a fair job, it still disappoints. The garish colour scheme is a little distracting, but worse is the shrill music and fussy drinks dispensing. The second level’s bright green and blue hues are particularly ugly, but it all hangs together OK in terms of gameplay. Just about.

COLECOVISION

Coleco took on development of Tapper itself and did a reasonable job of integrating the fast-paced arcade game into the Colecovision. There’s an odd jumping effect with the full mugs but a neat little speed graphic makes up for this. Unfortunately, the console begins to strain as things get a bit hectic, rendering the game more a test of luck than skill. You do get a dancing monkey, though, so that’s something.

COMMODORE 64

The limitations of the arcade original are perhaps a little too exposed in this graphically fine Commodore 64 game. Initially zippy and fun, it really looks the part and is probably the best of the 8-bit ports, especially when you factor in its superior musical accompaniment. Great for a quick session, but C64 fans were already expecting better gameplay-wise, although it certainly trumps its close rivals the Spectrum and Amstrad.

ZX SPECTRUM

Despite the bartender appearing to serve cups of tea rather than mugs of beer, this Spectrum iteration of Tapper is a good effort, representing all the zip and chaos of the arcade original. Again, the controls have been slightly altered – now the player just taps once to pour and serve – yet despite boasting an even tougher difficulty curve, this is a respectable conversion by David Anderson and Ian Morrison. The ‘music’, however, is awful.

PC

As you’d probably expect, the CGA graphics and farty PC sound effects don’t exactly do Tapper any justice at all. The controls and pace of the game are accurately mapped however, and once you get past the somewhat primitive display, it’s a moderately decent attempt at recreating the Marvin Glass game. Some sources cite Sierra On-line as the game’s developers.