Attack Of The Amiga Clones!

[CodyJarrett]

Here's another idea I stole from Amiga Power...

What I will do is to list two games each time - one will be an alleged copy of the other. You, the good people of the EAB must discuss the case for or against each of them!

I'll upload them in the Zone, just in case anyone doesn't have them and wants to try them out.

Case number 1 - Pang vs Ooops Up

The Plaintiff - Pang (Mitchell 1989 [arcade], Ocean 1990)
Features bouncing bubbles, which must be burst using a variety of weaponry from below. They burst into increasingly smaller bubbles.

The Defendant - Ooops Up (Demonware 1991)
Features bouncing balls, which must be burst using a variety of weaponry from below. They burst into increasingly smaller balls.

[Tim Janssen]

The main reason I still have Ooops Up on Amiga is that I was a big fan of house act Snap and the original Ooops-up single was the first CD I have ever bought. The game has a faithful rendition of the single but is not that playable.
Recently I discovered Pang playing it in WinFellow and makes me wonder why I haven’t played it before all those years ago.

Here come the comparisons:
- Pang features different music for all worlds, Ooops Up has only one song that repeats continuously. Although I like the Ooops Up music, hearing it for the 467th time really makes me turn off the speakers;
- Every action in Ooops Up results in long disc access. In Pang this isn’t the case;
- Before completing a level in Ooops Up, you must collect a coin. Otherwise you have to start the level all over again. In Pang shooting all bubbles alone is enough to progress.
- Pang features beautiful coloured backgrounds, Ooops Up only dark planet surfaces;
- Interlevel screens in Pang are cute, but the ship construction-screen in Ooops up really makes you want to progress further in the game.

To conclude my plea: apart from the interlevel screens, Pang is way superior to Ooops up.

[Kodoichi]

In Ooops Up, it's much harder to avoid the aliens or shot them.

I bought that game because there was some sort of contest going on with this game in our country and it only cost CHF 25.- or so...

I haven't played it in a long time, but I think one good thing about this game was that you could shoot the bricks with the double laser shot (IIRC), while in Pang you can't do that.

[Akira]

Die Oops Up! by my hand!!!

When I tried to copy Pang, the bastard at the shop copied thsi shite ionstead. I hated it ever since!!!!

Pang forever, Oops Up must die!

[CodyJarrett]

It is clear from the evidence given by the witnesses that Ooops Up is a poor imitation of Pang and while it does add one or two interesting features (the music and a ship building bit), it completely fails to be better than its source at all.

I therefore am compelled to sentence Ooops Up to 10 years in the EAB jail. Case closed.

[CodyJarrett]

Case number 2 - Sensible Soccer/SWOS vs Football Glory

The Plaintiff - SWOS (Sensible Software 1992-1996)
Footballing action with little men!

The Defendant - Football Glory (Croteam 1994)
Footballing action with little men!

[CodyJarrett]

Mmmm - it's ironic that I'm doing a thread about plaigarism in Amiga games, but I thieved the idea for it from Amiga Power!

[TikTok]

How about The Chaos Engine and Alien Bash (2?). I know AB was PD, but it was a blatant copy :).

[Pyromania]

What happened to Dungeon Master vs Bloodwych?

[CodyJarrett]

Order in the court!

Will those present please restrict their comments to the case in hand?

[jmmijo]

Originally posted by CodyJarrett
Order in the court!

Will those present please restrict their comments to the case in hand?

Yes Judge Cody has spoken, he'll clear the peanut gallery if he doesn't have order :laugh

Since I've never been a big Football(Soccer) fan, I'll have to defer to my European breathren on this one ;)

[Akira]

Oh man, Football Glory... Only bit I liked about it was the incidental animations it had... Something SWOS should have had... But then, it was a plain ripoff of Sensi...

But, the indoor footy version was not so loathable, so I could give it some extra points for that...

I'm a bit undecided here, but I'd say Fiootball Glory is guilty as charged!

[Codetapper]

Let me first say that I have never played Football Glory but from the screenshots, it looks like a blatant copy, even down to the size of the characters and the title pic of the stadium (which is the background pic on the menu selection screen in SWOS).

I honestly don't know how you could improve SWOS at all and I have never had anybody tell me to play/try Football Glory when I mention that I love SWOS...

Therefore I pass motion that Football Glory be sentenced to not less than seven (7) years in the aforementioned EAB jail and is not eligible for parole before this time...

[bgbennyboy]

Football Glory was fun.
I seem to remember Amiga Format (might have been CU amiga) pronouncing it better than sensi soccer.
(This was pre-SWOS of course)

Played well, the ball stuck to your feet more than SWOS (al-a striker) as a footy game it was quite comprehensive.

But at the end of the day it was just a sensi-clone and bowed down before the all conquering SWOS.

And yes the animations were good, particulary when the referee got hit when he sent someone off. In fact there was an animation that I have never seen since of a naked woman running on the pitch and saying "im safe for sex" (I swear this is true). Needless to say this caused much hilarity and for that Football Glory will always be remembered fondly in my house.
Oh and it had a good theme tune too........

[bgbennyboy]

And its developers Croteam went on to produce Serious Sam 1 and 2 !!

[CodyJarrett]

Yup! I'm playing through Serious Sam 2 at the moment. They are great games.

[kriz]

yeah, football glory was great. I remember me and my broher playing it alot (even more than Sensible Soccer!!)

[oldpx]

The red stains on the field in the screenshot can't be blood can they? I started to percieve them like that after bgbennyboy mentioned Serious Sam.

[CodyJarrett]

I thought they were muds stains, until the hundreds of now-extinct skeleton horse warriors galloped onto the Football Glory pitch.

Anyway, it's the finding of this court that Football Glory should spend no less than 5 years in the EAB jail, because it can still be fun (but perhaps only because it copied Sensi so closely). Case closed.

[CodyJarrett]

Case Number 3 - R-Type [Arcade version] vs Denaris

The Plaintiff - R-Type [Arcade version] (Irem 1987)
Fly horizontally in your space craft and destroy the onslaught!

The Defendant - Denaris (Factor 5/Rainbow Arts 1988)[/B]
Fly horizontally in your space craft and destroy the onslaught!

[Arcade screenshots from Screenmania]

[oldpx]

It looks like Katakis!!:hooooo

[CodyJarrett]

Yes!

Irem released R-Type on arcade machines in 1987. In 1988, Factor 5 did Denaris, but it didn't last long, because Irem didn't like the similarities between it and R-Type. Denaris was later re-released as Katakis and Factor 5 did the official R-Type conversion to the Amiga.

[CodyJarrett]

My double-barrel screenshot is better! ;)

[oldpx]

LOL

I was in a hurry :D

[Akira]

Originally posted by CodyJarrett
[...]because Irem didn't like the similarities between it and R-Type[...]

It actually was Activision, who had the rights for the production of the 16 bit version, who didn't like the similarities, and when they saw they were going nowhere with their conversion, called upon Factor 5 to do it.

I don't even think Irem ever saw the Amiga version of R-Type... like Taito never saw the Amiga version of Darius.. Yeeech!

Katakis/Denaris might be guilty, but since it's such a great game, I want to ask for special treatment, and a mild sentence :)

[CodyJarrett]

Thanks for the correction, Akira.

R-Type is one of those games with confusing multiple companies credited in it - Activision, Electric Dreams, Rainbow Arts, Factor 5, Irem...

But, it does make some sense:

Irem = Original arcade machine
Activision = Owned conversion rights
Electric Dreams = Activision's label
Rainbow Arts = Publisher
Factor 5 = Developer/Conversion

Maybe it's more complicated than this e.g. Rainbow Arts published in Europe and Activision in the US or something.

[Akira]

Yep that's more or less how it went... Pretty common shite to happen with japanese game conversions!

Anyway, stick to the trial :D

[Tim Janssen]

The fact Factor 5 were asked to do the Amiga conversion of R-type after Activision saw their Katakis/ Denaris release says everything. I have played Katakis/ Denaris for the first time a couple of days ago and I must say this R-type-clone is slightly better than the original.

[Minuous]

You have this slightly wrong...

Katakis was the R-Type clone, it was recalled for being too similar to R-Type. So Factor 5 changed a few things to make it less of a blatant clone, and re-released it as Denaris.

By the way this is a most interesting thread :-)

[Shatterhand]

Yeah, as a coincidence, I was playing Denaris today , and I just thought "What the hell this has to do with R-Type? Forget about the pod, and most things are completely differente"

Katakis is the rip-off of R-type.


About Football Glory, it looks a LOT like SWOS, and at first, it seems to play the same too, but it has more differences than just the animations.
You have bicycle and volley kicks, stronger tackles and speeds burst. Yet, the game doesn't feel right, and SWOS is a much better game anyway (As much as the PC version of SWOS also doesn't feel right)

The 5 on 5 indoor soccer version is a much better game indeed. It's not better than Swos, but it comes close, and I recommend it as the 3rd best soccer game on amiga (Loses to SWOS and GOAL!)

[CodyJarrett]

Thanks Minuous and Shatterhand for the info...

I rule that Katakis shall be let off with a warning, considering that it helped bring R-Type to the Amiga, as programmed by Amiga geniuses Factor 5.

[Tim Janssen]

Judge Cody,
What about Kid Gloves 2 (Clone) and Super Wonderboy (Original) in this court? Both games are very good. I am very interested for who the people will vote.:D

[KTC]

Now I'm doing it again - reviving an old thread. But I promise to make an effort to only reply to old threads that really interest me :)

I was playing "Prophecy I: The Viking Child" (http://hol.abime.net/1168) the other day, and kept thinking how much this game rips off "Wonderboy in Monsterland" (http://hol.abime.net/1750). The shops, the bosses, the life bar, the hourglass and general gameplay is very similar.
At least Viking Child had some nice music to soften this case. But anyway, what a ripoff! :shocked