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Publisher: Texas Instruments Incorporated
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17 games
Parsec

Parsec

Texas Instruments Incorporated

Parsec is a computer game for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. Perhaps the best-remembered of all TI-99/4A games, it is a side-scrolling shooter, programmed in 1982 by Jim Dramis (who also programmed the popular TI-99/4A games Car Wars and Munch Man) and Paul Urbanus. The player in Parsec pilots a spaceship through sixteen differently-colored levels of play which scroll horizontally over the screen. The objective is to avoid being shot by an enemy ship, colliding with any flying object and/or the ground, and destroy all enemy ships without overheating one's laser cannon. Three waves of fighters attack, alternating with three waves of cruisers. Enemy ships enter the screen one at a time. A ship flying off the left edge of the screen wraps around to the right side and attacks again. A new fighter can appear with others still on the screen, whereas a new cruiser will not come until the previous one is destroyed. The fighters pose only the threat of collision, while the cruisers fire on the player's ship. The fighter types are named Swoopers, LTFs (Light Triangular Fighters), and Saucers. The cruisers are called Urbites, Dramites, and Bynites. Each level ends with an asteroid belt, in which an array of asteroids advance on the ship and must be avoided or shot. At the end of each asteroid belt, any remaining asteroids are cleared away and the color of the ground is changed, then a new wave of Swoopers begins. Starting with level 4, the Swoopers are preceded by a random number of Killer Satellites, which come without the usual computer warning. The Urbites and Dramites appear to be named after the developers of the game, while the Bynites were apparently named after Don Bynum (the manager of TI's Personal Computer Division) or possibly named after the fact that they have invisibility (by night). In fact, Paul Urbanus signed Internet posts as late as 2005 as "urbite".

ArcadeShooter
Moonsweeper

Moonsweeper

Imagic, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Cheetahsoft Ltd., Toshiba-EMI

In Moonsweeper your goal is to rescue miners from the moons in Star Quadrant Jupiter. You begin your mission in space where you must avoid deadly aurora flares, photon torches and space bullets from the sun in this quadrant. From time to time you will see a moon pass by, and by flying near it you can descend to the surface. As you sweep along the surface, you will see stranded miners which need to be rescued by flying over them. Also on the moons surface are various obstacles which must be avoided or destroyed, such as towers and lunar satellites as well as alien surface destroyers. Should you survive and rescue six miners (the maximum your ship can carry), then you may take off from the surface by using the accelerator rings. There are several different types of moons found in this quadrant, each with a different level of difficulty. To help out, your ship is equipped with photon torpedoes and shields (though you will lose points while using the shield).

ArcadeShooter
Munch Mobile

Munch Mobile

SNK, Centuri, Texas Instruments Incorporated

The object is to drive safely down the road. Pick up enough fuel to stay alive while avoiding other vehicles that go by, grab as many bonus objects as possible including apples, cherries, bananas, acorns, live fish and money, and park your car in the garage. Driving while trying to pick up the goodies is difficult and you can crash very easily on the narrow roads. The pace of the game is frustrating because the hands move slowly while the car itself moves really fast, especially in the later rounds. If one of your hands hits a tree or any other foreign object in its quest for food, the car winces in pain for a few moments until it can use its hands again. You can get a bonus for putting used-up food into garbage cans. Grabbing fish which leap out of surrounding rivers is a safe bet, but most other bonuses are placed, so you can crash if you try to grab them. The best strategy is only to go for the fuel, since the car is a big gas guzzler and you can also get a bonus for leftover fuel at the end of the drive.

ArcadeRacing
Munch Man

Munch Man

Texas Instruments Incorporated

Munch Man is a video game written by Jim Dramis for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A home computer and published as a cartridge by Texas Instruments in 1982. Based on Namco's Pac-Man, Munch Man includes several variations that alter and enhance gameplay. Dramis later wrote Parsec for the TI-99/4A. The player controls the Munch Man using either the keyboard or joystick. Like Pac-Man, the goal of a level is to visit every part of the maze, but instead of eating dots the player fills the maze with a chain pattern. Four Hoonos (the equivalent of Pac-Man ghosts) attempt to thwart Munch Man's efforts to complete his mission. However, Munch Man always has his "Energizer" (the equivalent of a Pac-Man power pill) which gives Munch Man the ability to devour the Hoonos. The game ends when the player's lives are depleted. In level 20, 40, and 60, the maze is invisible and there are no chains. Instead, Munch Man must eat all the TI logos in the invisible maze. This gives the odd effect of showcasing the maze at first, but slowly hiding the maze as the player removes the indications of the maze paths by eating the TI logos.

Puzzle