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MANUFACTURER:
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
PRODUCT
NUMBER:
PHM 3112
. RELEASED:
3Q/1982
PROGRAMMERS:
JIM DRAMIS 
/ PAUL URBANUS
ORIGINAL
RETAIL PRICE: $39.95
SOUND CLIPS:
Asteroid
Belt|
REVIEW: Grade A-: Like most space games, Parsec
puts you in command of a fighter equipped with a laser for defense.
But, unlike others, the enemies in Parsec
change often, in both design and skill. When you reach the asteroid belt, the screen background changes to green. This is level two of Parsec; the enemy ships look the same, but you must hit one twice to destroy it. Survive the wave of enemy ships and asteroids, and you proceed to the next level where an enemy craft is vulnerable only to three hits. Parsec's graphics are excellent. The colors are varied, and the enemies appear in a variety of shapes and move quickly. A standard joystick doesn't respond quickly enough, however. 3rd party joysticks are recommended for this game. -Brian Starfire (The Best Texas Instruments Software) |
 TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: Matthew Doucette, a
crazed Parsec fan, has his
own page dedicated to the game called Rare Parsec Facts (The
TI-99/4A Video Game). It's an incredible piece of work and
definitely worth a visit if you are a fan of this great classic! |
| TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: This is the most popular
TI-99/4A cartridge out there, and definitely a "must play" for anyone
that has a TI-99/4A console or emulator. Parsec can be found in almost
everybody's collection and deservedly so, as many claim it to be their
favorite TI video game. In fact, many people associate the TI-99/4A
with Parsec because it's they
game they can remember the most from their childhood! |
| TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: This was the first game
to use bit map graphics on the TI-99/4A, which is one of the reasons
for
the big leap in graphics quality over many earlier games. |
| TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: There are two different
cartridge labels for Parsec,
the earlier Purple label and the later Red label. Originally, TI was
going to use Purple labels on video games and then ended up going with
the Red label scheme for reasons unknown. Only 3 titles are known
to exist in both Red and Purple label variations: Parsec, Alpiner, and Othello (all of which were among
the first titles to be released with colored labels). |
| TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: Secret Alert! After the game says
"Press Fire to Begin", crash one of your ships into the ground instead
of firing. This will cause the first wave of enemies to appear and if
you can blast through them without losing any lives there is a random
chance of being warped to a further stage in the game. Note that the
Warp Cheat does not work every time, so it may take a few tries before
you manage to actually warp. This cheat was discussed over on rec.games.video.classic
in a great story about someone's addiction to Parsec (in
addition, the follow ups to the original thread also contain some neat
stories!). |
| TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: Secret Alert! Here's a little secret
sent in to the Videogame House by Tim Flavin. If you hold down the fire
buttons on both joysticks simultaneously your ship will never overheat.
However, this can prove to be a little tricky if playing by yourself!
Your best bet is to play Parsec with a friend where both you
and your friend hold down the fire buttons on the joysticks. |
| TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: Easter Egg
Alert! On the
scrolling ground of Parsec
the initials JED and URB can
be seen (see the second screen shot on this page). JED stands for
programmer James E. Dramis, while URB is the nickname of Paul Urbanus
who helped Jim Dramis program the game as a college intern at TI. |
| TOUCAN'S TRIVIA: Easter Egg
Alert! The
Urbite and Dramite enemy ships that you battle against in the game are
named after the programmers Paul Urbanus and Jim Dramis. The Bynite
ships, on the other hand, get their name from Don Bynum who was head of
99/4A development. |
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