Title: Argus / Protector / Videoman / Guardian
Manufacturer: Gottlieb
Year: 1984
Hardware:
Main Processor: I8086 (8-bit, 5 MHz)
Sound Hardware: M6502 (8-bit, 894.886 kHz); DAC
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Description
This is a game
where the player controls a superhero who has to shoot enemies
& hazards with energy bolts, catch citizens &
cars falling from the sky, and catch or shoot rubble before it
crushes people. The game ends after all the citizens have been
killed. According to the Unreleased Gottlieb Games page, the caped superhero that the player
controls is named Protector
(Videoman in the test version). The player had to move around to
avoid swooping enemies who tried to punch Videoman, and
was able to throw buses at them. The player also had the ability
to punch chunks out of buidlings. At first, Videoman had a
close resemblance to Superman (because Gottlieb wanted the
Superman license), so his appearance & name was changed
to Protector. One stage of development of this game had the
character being named Waxman. Layouts of Waxman's face,
body, and various flying positions have been stored locally, but were
obtained from the Unreleased Gottlieb Games page
thanks to the webmaster & Jeff Lee (who donated the image).
The controls initially used a trackball, and were changed to use
a joystick after a player who tested it made the suggestion. This
game tested pretty badly and was never widely released.
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Emulation Status
Emulator: MAME
Playable: Yes
Sound: Yes
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Screenshots
Screenshots from the MAME W.I.P.
