Stampede

Not to be confused with Centipede, another Atari classic

''And let's face it, any game that awards you a "free cow" is a winner in my book. (The Video Game Critic)

Stampede is a horizontal auto-scrolling video game of arcade genre (not a game for arcade machines) developed and released by Activision in 1981 for the Atari 2600 and later also for the Mattel Intellivision in 1982.

Gameplay
You control a cowboy riding on a horse with a lasso in his hand and your goal is to catch as many calves as possible and get the highest score that you can. Making contact with calves will push them far away, giving you more time to catch them afterwards. You will meet different colours of them, during your round-up: You will also encounter a cow skull laying on the ground which makes your horse trip up just like the black calves do, with the same negative consequences. If three calves slip by you, the game ends. Every 1000 points, the times a calf can slip by are increased by one.
 * brown calves, worth 3 points;
 * yellow calves, worth 15 points;
 * white calves, worth 25 points;
 * black calves, also called "Angus", which stand still but move very fast towards you due to the auto-scrolling of the screen. They are worth 100 points, but cannot be pushed back by your horse and will make him trip up if you will make contact with them.

Why It Rocks
Note: unless specified, these pointers apply to both the Atari 2600 and the Mattel Intellivision versions.
 * 1) Very responsive controls.
 * 2) Excellent graphics, considering the level the video game technology was, at the time the game was released.
 * 3) Very detailed animations of the lasso in its idle position and the animals' legs that deliver a sense of realism even if they are just squares.
 * 4) In the Mattel Intellivision version, the sound of the galloping horse's hooves is well rendered.
 * 5) Relative rich gameplay that makes you want to come back to see if you can get an higher highscore.

Differences between versions
Aside from the already mentioned even smoother animations and the implemented hooves sounds, in the Mattel Intellivision port, the range of the lasso is shorter than in the Atari 2600 version and there are a bit less calves on screen.

Reception
At the time of its release, both versions were praised for their visuals, concept and gameplay. It was also noted that the game was very enjoyable despite utilising only 2k of ROM. Today, it is still one of the most enjoyable title in the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision's libraries. On his site, The Video Game Critic gave both version an A- grade, praising the uniqueness of the game in giving you a "free cow" every 1000 points.

Trivia
It is rumored that if you manage to get more than 5000 points, the game will reset and your score will be shown with steer heads instead of numbers. Apparently, this applies to the Atari 2600 version.

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