A look at Seaquest from Activision (Atari 2600)

During the heyday of the Atari 2600, pioneering third-party developer Activision released some stellar games for the system. Made up of former Atari employees unhappy with conditions at the company, they left and founded the fledgling startup, and all these years later their story is the stuff of retrogaming legend. And their most famous and successful titles, including Kaboom, River Raid and the extraordinary Pitfall, set them apart from competing developers in the business at the time. In addition to these widely known titles however, many of their other releases also had fantastic graphics and gameplay and are still well worth a look today. So, in keeping with the underwater adventure theme of my previous blog post on Aquaventure, this month I'll take a look at the similarly themed 1983 release Seaquest from Activision. 

While Aquaventure is about avoiding deadly fish and retrieving sunken treasure before your air runs out, in Seaquest your divers have already retrieved it and now your submarine (or sub for short) must rescue them. The air supply is a concern here too, because while underwater it is depleted at a constant rate and you must surface before it's gone or lose one sub. And because the goal is to rescue six divers for big points, surfacing before collecting them all costs you one. And perish the thought of surfacing with an empty vessel, because that costs one sub. Enemies in Seaquest include Killer Sharks, Enemy Subs (which fire torpedoes), and a patrol vessel that tries to move in on you on the surface while you're refueling. Collision with any of these results in the loss of a sub. (Those sharks must be massive great whites to be able to destroy a submarine on contact!) Extra subs (lives) are awarded for every 10,000 points, and like many games of this era, things speed up and point values increase as levels are completed.

The Seaquest playfield (and my current high score!)

The first thing that really stands out here is how nice looking and sounding Seaquest is. The graphics are well done, with Activision's impressive colorful horizon on top of appropriately blue water and nicely defined divers, sharks and vessels below. And the sounds of battle, air being replenished (refueling) and warning alarms give the game a sense of urgency and excitement. And apart from the graphics and sounds, the gameplay is very solid. Things have a nice flow and the game starts appropriately slowly, giving players a chance to get the feel of maneuvering the sub around underwater, which will be critical in later stages when precise control is essential. The instruction manual twice stresses the importance of "silent running", which means moving without firing. This makes sense, as does deciding whether manual firing or holding the button down for rapid fire works best for you.

A boxed copy of Seaquest from Activision

Put simply, I've found this game to be engaging and fun, with a real arcade-like feel that gives it high replay value. So, with that in mind, let me detail a few things I've learned from playing. The first is to always make the divers your main focus. That's because each time you surface with six in tow, it increases the points values of the enemies going forward. More than that however, the value of the rescued divers continues to increase each time you surface. They start out being worth 50 points each and go all the way up to 1000 points per rescue. Additionally, bonus points are awarded upon surfacing for any oxygen remaining. So as tempting as it can be to blast away with abandon at the enemy subs and sharks, always prioritize the divers.

Score 50,000 or more points to join the Activision Sub Club

I also recommend rescuing a diver(s) as soon as they appear and quickly blasting enemies as they emerge from the edges of the same row(s). While I can't say with certainty, it seems like the divers appear more frequently when rows are cleared. And related to this is the fact that, in general, it's safer to fire at enemies as they are moving away from you. This is because they can be more difficult than you think to hit in later rounds, and it's much better to miss when doing so won't cost you a sub (life). Additionally, I was surprised to learn through some frantic gameplay in faster rounds that it is possible to maneuver between rows of enemies. But your movements must be absolutely precise (hence the "silent running" practice), which isn't easy when things speed up. So, perhaps by keeping these things in mind, along with just a little luck and lots of practice, you too can join the illustrious ranks of the Activision Sub Club! Good luck underwater adventurers!