Game Review: 180 (Atari, Mastertronic)

From the pubs to the joysticks, one of the UK’s most popular sports made its way to most of the 8-bit platforms via Mastertronic’s MAD range in October 1986 in the shape of 180. This 8-bit Atari version of this classic darts game followed in August 1987, but did it managed to capture the success of the original?

Mastertronic Or MAD?

This is one of those games that seems to have something of an identity crisis when it comes to branding. The original versions of 180 released for the Commodore 64, Spectrum and Amstrad were released on the short-lived MAD range. The later conversions – including this one for the Atari – were incorporated into the main Mastertronic range and used its numbering system.

However, as with the other versions, it kept the same £2.99 price point and as such was released with MAD branding. For collectors it just leaves confusion – do you class it as a MAD title or a Mastertronic one?

Playing Like A Drunk

Controlling 180 takes a little getting used to at first. Limited to joystick only, you see a representation of your hand on screen in front of the dartboard but it’s in constant motion and somewhat wobbly (you’re player has obviously had a bit too much to drink!). Rather than moving the joystick up, down, left and right to aim, you can only move diagonally and as I said once you push in a particular direction it doesn’t stop.

When the hand is lined up with the segment of the board when you want to throw the dart at, just press fire and hope you’ve got your aim on target! It takes a little getting used to at first but after a short while not only does it become second nature but actually feels like quite a natural way to play.

Game Modes

There are three game modes on offer in 180. The first is Tune Up which is a basic practice mode. You play against the clock and you have to work around the board hitting the numbers in order. You can aim for single, double or triple scoring segments and have an unlimited amount of darts at your disposal. As the main game is played without a timer, this is really just a way to practice not only getting used to the placement of all the numbers on the board but improving your aim.

The main game is split in two and is just a tradition darts match. There are one or two player options with the single player game being played against the computer. Spread over several rounds, each starts off facing against a different CPU opponent and you have to get your score from 501 down to 0 before your opponent does. The catch? You have to finish with an exact score that has to land in a double point area.

Best Of Three

Matches against each of the opponents are split into three “legs” and the first to win two goes through to the next round. Lose two and it’s game over. 180 gives the impression that you are taking part in a tournament and are already through to the Quarter Finals (so you only have to beat three opponents to win the game completely) but the lack of any on-screen display of simulated matches for the other CPU players breaks that illusion.

While the first two aren’t too difficult to beat, the third and final opponent achieves near perfect shots every time so the only way you can win is to get every dart on target!

The two player mode strips the game down to a more basic form of this, just offering a single game of three legs, with players taking it in turns. The only real gripe I had here is that each player needs to use a separate joystick when it would have been much easier to use a single joystick and just pass it between players.

Playability

Obviously the most important part is how well does it play… and the answer is brilliantly. Once you get used to the hand movement, it really manages to recreate the feeling of playing darts remarkably well. Even if you’re not a fan of playing the game in real life, 180 manages to turn it into a fun video game by keeping each game relatively brief so it doesn’t feel dragged out in any way.

Difficultly feels fairly balanced and it’s one of those games that genuinely relies on player skill rather than luck. The only downside in the single player mode is that you need to be able to hit a perfect 9-dart finish to beat the final opponent as he’ll manage to do this every time, but that gives you that extra incentive to keep playing and hone your skills.

Graphics And Sound

On the visual side, there isn’t a great deal that can be done to improve the looks of a dartboard but all the segments are clear and easy to make out so aiming is all down to your own ability rather than hoping that you’re in the right spot. The graphics and animation on the hand are superb though and really add to the game. Another highlight is the score seen on the right hand side of the screen. Each time you land a dart of the board, the score is updated and it is written on slowly in chalk. An impressive effect and just adds to the atmosphere.

When it comes to the CPU, this is represented by a side-on view of each player throwing their darts at a board in a pub (where else?!). While it does have the variety of background graphics found in the Commodore 64 version, they are only static images. However, the characters are well animated and they are all distinct from each other.

Sound is fairly limited to a few in-game effects and a brief piece of sample speech when you manage to get the fabled top score of 180. However, this is somewhat garbled and while it’s a nice idea to have included it, with the quality it would have been better to have left it out. All of the music has been composed by David Whittaker and converted to the Atari by Jason Brooke and I have to be honest and say that I prefer the Atari version here. As much as I’m a fan of music on the C64, I always felt that Whittaker’s music was better suited to other soundchips instead.

Overall

Regardless of the format, 180 is one of the best darts games I have played on any format. The only one I would say has ever beaten it is Top Darts on the PlayStation 3 and that’s only when it’s played using the PlayStation Move controller. While it’s limited colour pallete gives the graphics a slightly washed out look, it doesn’t hurt the gameplay in the slightest and it’s just as addictive as it was when it was first released almost 40 years ago. One of Mastertronic’s finest and not to be missed.

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