Bugs

Bugs is a shooter game developed and published by Data Age for the mh:awesomegames:Atari 2600 released in 1982. You play the game using the Atari 2600 paddle controller.

Gameplay
You are at an alien planet where you have to deal with bugs emerging underground headed toward your ship. You must shoot them before they reach it along with the Phylax, which is able to destroy the ship's hull. Once your three lives are up, it's game over.

Why It Sucks

 * 1) One of the enemies you shoot is a lizard which isn't a bug. The manual doesn't even mention that one of the enemies is a lizard.
 * 2) There's a delay when you press the button to fire, which can lead you to lose a life.
 * 3) The hit detection is shoddy when you have to hit the bugs and Phylax. You must be pixel perfect or the game won't count it as killing the enemy. It also makes controlling the cursor using the paddle controller more difficult than it needs to be.
 * 4) The cursor isn't aiming on the bugs and lizard but instead at the bottom where they emerge which doesn't make sense because you're not actually aiming at them and instead at nothing. At least you are able to aim your cursor at the Phylax.
 * 5) The music is horrible and repetitive.
 * 6) When the Phylax appears, it's nearly impossible to shoot it due to the delayed shooting. If you end up missing the Phylax, then your all but guaranteed to lose a life. Once you beat the first level, there will two Phylaxes you have to deal with at the same time which you can pretty much kiss your lives goodbye.
 * 7) The way the game is designed looks different compared to what's described in the manual. In the game, you are aiming at the bugs which makes you think that you are in a spaceship but according to the manual, you lose a life because when a bug reaches at the top of the screen, it means that they damaged your ship. So then the bugs are actually crawling away from you to get to your ship which means you are shooting at them from outside. Was it that difficult to add the ship to the top of the screen?
 * 8) *It makes it even more confusing when you consider the Phylax is on your line of fire where it's a danger to you, not the ship. However, according to the manual, when the Phylax touches the cursor, then the ship's hull is damaged, but that should be impossible because as stated before, the bugs are headed toward your ship which is away from you. So according to the game and the manual, you are on two ships at the same time and that if one is damaged, then both ships are damaged. Confused? That's because Data Age didn't know what they were doing when they designed the game and the manual!

The Only Redeeming Quality

 * 1) The sprites for the bugs and lizard actually resemble the creatures unlike the other games Data Age has made that have sprites that don't resemble what they're supposed to be.

Reception
Bugs has received negative reception since its release and is regarded one of the worst Atari 2600 games ever made. The game has a rating of 2.18 stars on GameFAQs.

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