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''Barnyard Blaster'' is a
light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sens ...
shooting video game written by James Zalewski and published by
Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when Warner Communica ...
for the
Atari 7800 The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a home video game console officially released by Atari Corporation in 1986 as the successor to both the Atari 2600 and Atari 5200. It can run almost all Atari 2600 cartridges, making it one ...
and
Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE ...
in 1988. It is one of the few games compatible with the
Atari XG-1 light gun The Atari XG-1 light gun is a video game controller which was released in 1987. As Atari's only light gun, it is unique to the 8-bit family. It is compatible with the Atari XEGS, and with the 7800 and 2600 home video game consoles. It was bundle ...
.


Plot

The player takes on the role of a farm hand. The player and their grandpa decide to invest their life savings into a farm. However, once settled in, both notice that several rodents, birds, and other critters are threatening the farm. It is up to the unnamed player to take out the critters.


Gameplay

The goal of this game is to rid the farm of vermin by successfully hitting targets using the light gun in each of the game's three areas. These areas include, the barn, cornfield, and barnyard. The player must take out all enemies on screen by using less than 40 bullets. This forces the player to improve accuracy each round. If the player runs out of bullets before eliminating all critters, the game ends. There is a fourth bonus area called "Gramp's bonus screen." This area allows players a chance to improve their shooting skill and earn extra points. This area is unlocked each time the player completes the other three areas successfully. Players are assigned a rank based on how many screens were completed before the game ends. The rank ranges from "total dud" when zero screens are completed to "blaster" when a minimum of 33 screens are completed. This game can be played either with 1 or 2 players.


Reception

In a retrospective review, the Video Game Critic gave the Atari 7800 version of the game an F, calling it "the worst of the Atari 7800 light gun games."


References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , last1=Hague , first1=James , title=The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers , url=https://dadgum.com/giantlist/ 1988 video games Atari 7800 games Atari 8-bit family games Light gun games Video games developed in the United States