Wacko is a 1983 arcade game by Bally Midway. It featured a unique angled, or sloped, cabinet design and a combination of trackball and joystick controls. The main character also appears in Kozmik Krooz'r.
Description
The player assumes the role of Kapt'n Krooz'r, a small, green alien within a bubble-topped spaceship. The goal of each level is to eliminate the monsters, accomplished by shooting twin pairs in succession. As the player progresses, shooting monsters out of order creates mutants that must be unmatched before they can be eliminated.
Gameplay
The player moves Kapt'n Krooz'r with the trackball and fires in four directions using either joystick. Shooting a single monster stuns it for a few seconds. The player must then shoot the monster's twin before the first one recovers in order to eliminate the pair.
On later boards, shooting a different monster results in the two becoming a mutant—the head of one joins with the torso of the other, and vice versa. To eliminate these mutants one must either unmix them, by shooting the same pair again, or produce a second identical mutant which can then be paired up with the first. Eliminating a pair of mutants is worth more points than eliminating a pair of non-mutants.
As the player advances from board to board, the following additional transformations appear, introduced one at a time:
Ports
Wacko is available as a part of two compilations of arcade games: Midway Arcade Treasures 2, for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox; and Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition for the PC.
Highest score
Steve Harris of Missouri, USA, scored a world record 1,608,100 points playing Wacko at the NKC Pro Bowl in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, on March 31, 1983.
Description
The player assumes the role of Kapt'n Krooz'r, a small, green alien within a bubble-topped spaceship. The goal of each level is to eliminate the monsters, accomplished by shooting twin pairs in succession. As the player progresses, shooting monsters out of order creates mutants that must be unmatched before they can be eliminated.
Gameplay
The player moves Kapt'n Krooz'r with the trackball and fires in four directions using either joystick. Shooting a single monster stuns it for a few seconds. The player must then shoot the monster's twin before the first one recovers in order to eliminate the pair.
On later boards, shooting a different monster results in the two becoming a mutant—the head of one joins with the torso of the other, and vice versa. To eliminate these mutants one must either unmix them, by shooting the same pair again, or produce a second identical mutant which can then be paired up with the first. Eliminating a pair of mutants is worth more points than eliminating a pair of non-mutants.
As the player advances from board to board, the following additional transformations appear, introduced one at a time:
- Matched pairs of large monsters become tiny and fly around the screen
- Tiny monsters turn into eggs and run around
- Eggs turn into bats
Ports
Wacko is available as a part of two compilations of arcade games: Midway Arcade Treasures 2, for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox; and Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition for the PC.
Highest score
Steve Harris of Missouri, USA, scored a world record 1,608,100 points playing Wacko at the NKC Pro Bowl in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, on March 31, 1983.