Baby Boomer

Ah, the elusive Color Dreams unauthorized games. Like wine, they cost more and more as they age, these rare gems. Unfortunately, also like wine, they turn to vinegar eventually. I keep on worrying as I put this game into my system to play it the top loader is going to break. The blue cart jams into the Nintendo slot hard, and I can't help feel that it will destroy the connectors. If you ever receive the honor of playing Baby Boomer, the Atari 5200 graphics will scream out at you, probably the reason why Nintendo refused to license this game. Many objects present themselves on the screen, but the lifeless graphics appear flat and have a pitiful amount of unique colors. Another possible reason Nintendo refused to license this cart is the stage location is extremely weird. Stage 1: A garden. Stage 2: A graveyard full of the undead. Stage 3: Heaven. Stage 4: Hell. As you can imagine, Nintendo, knowing the Protestant religious nature of the United States, didn't want a game in which a baby would wander into the depth of the netherworld and would have to avoid being killed by demons.

Plot/Gameplay: As the player, you use either the Zapper or the controller (with crosshairs) or both to shoot objects to aid a wandering baby from receiving damage. you must also shoot randomly at objects above cliffs to make a bridge materialize if a pit exists. If it falls down a pit or gets hit by a monster, you lose a life. You also can lose a life if the baby runs out of milk; you'll have to shoot milk bottles when they appear on screen to fill up a milk meter. The baby always moves on the screen horizontally; only a flower will stop him temporarily, and a boulder will stop him until it is destroyed. Regarding challenge, you'll have a easy time progressing through the stages, most likely. Some segments of the game require interesting timing abilities. For example, in stage 3, you must shoot a golden bottle, keep shooting a cloud to make it stop raining, because rain will kill the baby, and shoot another cloud to make a bridge come forth. A lack of a midpoint in the stages can really irrate you: you can be the end of a stage when an enemy comes out of nowhere, and then you'll have to start the five-minute routine all over again. Still, Baby Boomer won't make you rip your hair out, so it's an OK way to burn a half-hour.

Graphics F

Sound/Music D-

Play Control A

Challenge C

Fun Factor C

Replay Value C

Overall C- links