Editing Berzerk

From StrategyWiki, the video game walkthrough and strategy guide wiki

You are not logged in. Please consider registering an account. By having a StrategyWiki account, you can have your own user page, upload images for your guide, and even customize the look of the site to match your tastes! Also, another benefit of registering an account is that your IP address is not logged whenever you edit, so it adds security and privacy as well. Sign up today! It takes less than one minute and requires no personal information — you're not even required to provide an e-mail address!

If you choose not to register, don't worry! You can still edit StrategyWiki all the same, just with fewer luxuries than registered users have. Your IP address will be recorded in this page's edit history, you must use the Show Preview feature to check over your work before being allowed to save your changes, and your edit may be scrutinized a bit more than that of a registered user's edit. If you don't wish any of the preceding things to happen to you or your edit, please log in or register. Please make sure that you are following all applicable policies and guidelines when making your edit, and we hope that you continue to contribute to StrategyWiki in the future!

The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then publish the changes below to finish undoing the edit.

Latest revision Your text
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Header Nav|game=Berzerk}}
{{All_Game_Nav|game=Berzerk|num=2}}
{{Game
 
|completion=4
{{Infobox|title=Berzerk
|image=Berzerk flyer.jpg
|boxart=[[Image:Berzerk flyer.jpg|250px]]
|title=Berzerk
|developer=[[Stern Electronics]]
|developer=[[Stern Electronics]]
|publisher=[[Stern Electronics]]
|publisher=[[Stern Electronics]]
|year=1980
|categories=[[Action]]
|systems={{syslist|cade|a2600|a8bit|a5200|vecx}}
|systems=[[Arcade]], [[Atari 2600]], [[Atari 8-bit]], [[Atari 5200]], [[Vectrex]]
|genre=[[Action]]
|releasedates=[[1980]]
|players=1-2
|players=1-2
|modes=[[Single player]], [[multiplayer]]
|ratings=N/A
|followed by=[[Frenzy]]
|followed by=[[Frenzy]]
}}
}}
{{marquee|Berzerk marquee.png}}
{{wikipedia}}
'''Berzerk''' is a very simple game of kill or be killed. Even by [[1980]] standards it was a simple game, but its simplicity was possibly the feature that made it most successful. The game's designer, Alan McNeil, had a dream one night involving a black-and-white video game in which he had to fight robots. This dream was the basis for Berzerk. The idea for a black-and-white game was abandoned when the color game [[Defender]] was released earlier that same year. The title of the game comes from the series of books called 'The Berzerker Stories' by Fred Saberhagen. It is a novel about robots which go "Berzerk" and start killing everybody.
[[Image:Berzerk marquee.png|300px]]


Berzerk is the first robot killing game but the biggest selling point of Berzerk was its use of speech. It was the first game to feature talking enemies, with the speech compressed for the game at a cost of roughly $1000 per word. If you left a room without killing them all, the survivors would taunt you in their robotic voices : "Chicken! Fight like a robot!" or simply "Chicken". The A.I. for the robots was naturally unsophisticated. Your robot opponents often fell foul of slapstick misfortune, shooting each other or walking into walls and exploding in their attempts to kill you. "Evil Otto" was named after Dave Otto, who worked for Dave Nutting's Arcade Engineering group as R&D director at the time Alan McNeil did. Evil Otto is considered to be one of the most intimidating video game villains of all time, resembling a bouncing smiley face.
'''Berzerk''', is a very simple game of kill or be killed. Even by [[1980]] standards, it was a simple game, but it's simplicity was probably the feature that made it most successful.  The game's designer, Alan McNeil, had a dream one night involving a black-and-white video game in which he had to fight robots. This dream was the basis for Berzerk. The idea for a black-and-white game was abandoned when the color game [[Defender]] was released earlier that same year. The title of the game comes from the series of books called 'The Berzerker Stories' by Fred Saberhagen. It's a novel about robots which go Berzerk and kill everybody.


Berzerk was Stern's first major video game success, and it was followed up with a sequel called [[Frenzy]]. Atari bought the rights to bring the game to their popular home systems, the [[Atari 2600]] and the [[Atari 5200]], with a version planned for the [[Atari 8-bit]] line of computers but ultimately never commercially released (it was leaked to the public early on). Because of the simplicity of the game, Berzerk is considered to be one of the most accurate and faithful conversions to the 2600 that Atari ever made. While clones were developed for many other systems, Berzerk saw one other surprising official release, appearing on the vector graphics based [[Vectrex]] home video game system. Despite the difference between the display of the arcade and the display employed by the Vectrex, the conversion was well made. The game also served as an inspiration for later, more sophisticated maze games such as [[Castle Wolfenstein]], [[Shamus]], and [[Robotron: 2084]].
Berzerk is the first robot killing game but the big selling point of Berzerk was speech. It was the first game to feature talking enemies, with the speech compressed for the game at a cost of roughly $1000 per word.  If you left a room without killing them all, the survivors would taunt you in their robotic voices : "Chicken! Fight like a robot!" or simply "Chicken".  The A.I. for the robots was naturally unsophisticated. Your robot opponents often fell foul of slapstick misfortune, shooting each other or walking into walls and exploding in their attempts to kill you. "Evil Otto" was named for "Dave Otto", who worked for Dave Nutting's Arcade Engineering group as R & D director at the time Alan McNeil did. "Evil Otto" is considered one of the most intimidating video game villains of all time, resembling a bouncing smiley face.


==Story==
Berzerk was Stern's first major video game success, and it was followed up with a sequel called [[Frenzy]].  Atari bought the rights to bring the game to their popular home systems, the [[Atari 2600]] and the [[Atari 5200]], with a version planned for the [[Atari 8-bit]] line of computers but ultimately never commercially released (it was leaked to the public early on). Because of the simplicity of the game, Berzerk is considered one of the most accurate and faithful conversions to the 2600 that Atari ever made.  While clones were developed for many other systems, Berzerk saw one other surprising official release, appearing on the vector graphics based [[Vectrex]] home video game system. Despite the difference between the display of the arcade and the display employed by the Vectrex, the conversion was well made.
The story of Berzerk is a bit chilling. As the player of the game, you are forced to wander forever in a maze full of enemy robots, destroying as many as you can and moving from room to room until the robots ultimately defeat you. There is no escape, only the will to live.


<gallery>
<gallery>
File:Berzerk Atari flyer.jpg|Atari promo flyer.
Image:Berzerk screen.png|Game play
Image:Berzerk Atari flyer.jpg|Atari promo flyer.
</gallery>
== Story ==
The story of Berzerk is a bit chilling.  As the player of the game, you are forced to wander forever in a maze full of enemy robots, destroying as many as you can and moving from room to room until the robots ultimately defeat you.  There is no escape, only the will to live.
== Table of Contents ==
*[[Berzerk/How to play|How to play]]
*[[Berzerk/Versions|Home Version Comparisons]]
== Box artwork ==
Berzerk has been released on a few different systems, and has accumulated a small set of box artwork, displayed below.
<gallery>
Image:Berzerk 2600 box.jpg|Atari 2600
Image:Berzerk 2800 box.jpg|Atari 2800 (Japanese 2600)
Image:Berzerk 5200 box.jpg|Atari 5200
Image:Berzerk VEC box.jpg|Vectrex
</gallery>
</gallery>
== Pac-Man Fever Lyrics ==
[[Image:Pac-Man Fever Album Cover.gif|right]]
Just for fun, here are the lyrics from the "Goin' Berzerk" track from the [[1982]] Pac-Man Fever Album:
I can move in eight directions,<br>
Once I start I'm never done;<br>
I can go from room to room,<br>
I can crawl or I can run.<br>
I can wander through the maze,<br>
It's a wonderland at night;<br>
I can stop and aim my gun<br>
When there's a robot in my sight.<br>
I can wander through the maze,<br>
It's a wonderland at night.<br>
I can stop and aim my gun<br>
When there's a robot in my sight.<br>
'''Chorus''':
I think I'm goin' berzerk. I think I'm losing my mind.<br>
I'm getting lost in the shuffle. It happens everytime.<br>
I think I'm goin' berzerk. Would you like to come too?<br>
I can't stop now, I'm addicted. I'm berzerk over you.<br>
If we fight this thing together,<br>
There's a chance that we might win;<br>
Now here come Evil Otto,<br>
Push the fire buttons in.<br>
I'm sure he's crazy too,<br>
Because he's bouncin' off the floor;<br>
There's no way to destroy him,<br>
Let him bounce right out the door.<br>
Now here comes Evil Otto,<br>
Push the fire buttons in,<br>
If we fight this thing together,<br>
There's a chance that we might win.<br>
'''Chorus'''
'''Keyboard solo'''


{{ToC}}
Berzerk, berzerk, berzerk over you.<br>
Berzerk, berzerk, berzerk over you.<br>
Berzerk, berzerk, berzerk over you.<br>
Berzerk, berzerk over you.<br>
''Repeat several times and fade''


{{Continue Nav|game=Berzerk|nextpage=How to Play|nextname=How to play|nextpage2=Versions|nextname2=Home Version Comparisons}}
[[Category:Arcade]]
[[Category:MAME]]
[[Category:Atari 2600]]
[[Category:Atari 5200]]
[[Category:Atari 8-bit]]
[[Category:Vectrex]]
[[Category:Action]]
[[Category:Stern Electronics]]
[[Category:Stern Electronics]]
[[Category:Action]]
[[Category:Single player]]
[[Category:Single player]]
[[Category:Multiplayer]]
[[Category:Multiplayer]]
[[Category:MAME]]
[[Category:1980]]
Please note that all contributions to StrategyWiki are considered to be released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (see StrategyWiki:Copyrights for details). If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION!
Cancel Editing help (opens in new window)

Notice to contributors: The StrategyWiki administration does not condone plagiarism or the use of materials from any other source. Period. By saving this page you are promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. With the exception of official media (screenshots, artwork, symbols, etc., but not text) and materials released under the CC-BY-SA you must have the rights to or ownership of all work you submit to StrategyWiki. Do not copy text or images from other websites without permission. They will be deleted.

Copy and paste: – — ° ′ ″ ≈ ≠ ≤ ≥ ± − × ÷ ← → · §   Cite your sources: <ref></ref>


{{}}   {{{}}}   |   []   [[]]   [[Category:]]   #REDIRECT [[]]   &nbsp;   <s></s>   <sup></sup>   <sub></sub>   <code></code>   <pre></pre>   <blockquote></blockquote>   <ref></ref> <ref name="" />   {{Reflist}}   <references />   <includeonly></includeonly>   <noinclude></noinclude>   {{DEFAULTSORT:}}   <nowiki></nowiki>   <!-- -->   <span class="plainlinks"></span>


{{Header Nav|game={{subst:BASEPAGENAME}}}}   {{Footer Nav|game={{subst:BASEPAGENAME}}|prevpage=|nextpage=}}   {{spoilers}}   {{spoiler|}}   {{delete|Unused}}   {{rename|MS Monster .png}}   {{floatingtoc}}   {{stub}}


Symbols: ~ | ¡ ¿ † ‡ ↔ ↑ ↓ • ¶   # ∞   ‘ ’ “ ” ‹› «»   ¤ ₳ ฿ ₵ ¢ ₡ ₢ $ ₫ ₯ € ₠ ₣ ƒ ₴ ₭ ₤ ℳ ₥ ₦ № ₧ ₰ £ ៛ ₨ ₪ ৳ ₮ ₩ ¥   ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦   ♭ ♯ ♮   © ® ™
Latin: A a Á á À à  â Ä ä Ǎ ǎ Ă ă Ā ā à ã Å å Ą ą Æ æ Ǣ ǣ   B b   C c Ć ć Ċ ċ Ĉ ĉ Č č Ç ç   D d Ď ď Đ đ Ḍ ḍ Ð ð   E e É é È è Ė ė Ê ê Ë ë Ě ě Ĕ ĕ Ē ē Ẽ ẽ Ę ę Ẹ ẹ Ɛ ɛ Ǝ ǝ Ə ə   F f   G g Ġ ġ Ĝ ĝ Ğ ğ Ģ ģ   H h Ĥ ĥ Ħ ħ Ḥ ḥ   I i İ ı Í í Ì ì Î î Ï ï Ǐ ǐ Ĭ ĭ Ī ī Ĩ ĩ Į į Ị ị   J j Ĵ ĵ   K k Ķ ķ   L l Ĺ ĺ Ŀ ŀ Ľ ľ Ļ ļ Ł ł Ḷ ḷ Ḹ ḹ   M m Ṃ ṃ   N n Ń ń Ň ň Ñ ñ Ņ ņ Ṇ ṇ Ŋ ŋ   O o Ó ó Ò ò Ô ô Ö ö Ǒ ǒ Ŏ ŏ Ō ō Õ õ Ǫ ǫ Ọ ọ Ő ő Ø ø Œ œ   Ɔ ɔ   P p   Q q   R r Ŕ ŕ Ř ř Ŗ ŗ Ṛ ṛ Ṝ ṝ   S s Ś ś Ŝ ŝ Š š Ş ş Ș ș Ṣ ṣ ß   T t Ť ť Ţ ţ Ț ț Ṭ ṭ Þ þ   U u Ú ú Ù ù Û û Ü ü Ǔ ǔ Ŭ ŭ Ū ū Ũ ũ Ů ů Ų ų Ụ ụ Ű ű Ǘ ǘ Ǜ ǜ Ǚ ǚ Ǖ ǖ   V v   W w Ŵ ŵ   X x   Y y Ý ý Ŷ ŷ Ÿ ÿ Ỹ ỹ Ȳ ȳ   Z z Ź ź Ż ż Ž ž   ß Ð ð Þ þ Ŋ ŋ Ə ə   {{Unicode|}}
Greek: Ά ά Έ έ Ή ή Ί ί Ό ό Ύ ύ Ώ ώ   Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ   Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ   Ι ι Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ   Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π π   Ρ ρ Σ σ ς Τ τ Υ υ   Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω   {{Polytonic|}}
Cyrillic: А а Б б В в Г г   Ґ ґ Ѓ ѓ Д д Ђ ђ   Е е Ё ё Є є Ж ж   З з Ѕ ѕ И и І і   Ї ї Й й Ј ј К к   Ќ ќ Л л Љ љ М м   Н н Њ њ О о П п   Р р С с Т т Ћ ћ   У у Ў ў Ф ф Х х   Ц ц Ч ч Џ џ Ш ш   Щ щ Ъ ъ Ы ы Ь ь   Э э Ю ю Я я   ́
IPA: t̪ d̪ ʈ ɖ ɟ ɡ ɢ ʡ ʔ   ɸ β θ ð ʃ ʒ ɕ ʑ ʂ ʐ ç ʝ ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ ʜ ʢ ɦ   ɱ ɳ ɲ ŋ ɴ   ʋ ɹ ɻ ɰ   ʙ ⱱ ʀ ɾ ɽ   ɫ ɬ ɮ ɺ ɭ ʎ ʟ   ɥ ʍ ɧ   ʼ   ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ ʛ   ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ   ɨ ʉ ɯ   ɪ ʏ ʊ   ø ɘ ɵ ɤ   ə ɚ   ɛ œ ɜ ɝ ɞ ʌ ɔ   æ   ɐ ɶ ɑ ɒ   ʰ ʱ ʷ ʲ ˠ ˤ ⁿ ˡ   ˈ ˌ ː ˑ ̪   {{IPA|}}

Your changes will be visible immediately.
  • For testing, please use the sandbox instead.
  • On talk pages, please sign your comment by typing four tildes (~~~~).

Please note:
  • If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly or redistributed by others, do not submit it.
  • Only public domain resources can be copied without permission — this does not include the vast majority of web pages or images.
  • See our policies and guidelines for more information on editing.