This game is a BASIC arcade effort from one of the Spanish Microhobby compilations and is quite a unique title, although truthully it's not exactly a game that you'd spend a long time playing.
I make the title to roughly translate as "Of (drinking) glasses in New York", which makes some sense since the game involves a UFO like object constantly flying from left to right across a Manhattan type skyline. The skyscrapers have drinking glasses on top of them, which must be collected. You control the up and down movement of the craft and can also make some sort of skydiver descend from it. Either the skydiver or the UFO directly can be used to be used to collect the glasses. You should avoid colliding with buildings or stars.
You just can't fault this game for imagination. However, to me the setting looks more like "New New york", perhaps a future Martian colony, since we have a bright red sky with plenty of stars visible and of course I don't think that spacecraft or anti-UFO projectiles are that common in the present day metropolis. Also, the top floors of the skyscraper on the right hand side of the screen can only be described as having an "unorthodox", perhaps futuristic design.
The game has three levels:- easy, difficult or very difficult, although really the screen seems a bit of a jumbled mess during play. It's easy to momentarily lose track of your yellow on red flickery UFO, particularly after a collision. Therefore I would describe all three options as "difficult", or at least "fiddly".
The mock-3D effect of the skyscrapers is quite well done and short-duration BEEPs certainly provide sound that is suitable for the game. Keys are fixed, being mapped as the not too common 0,O,Z combination.
There are a few unfinished aspects of the program. For example press a letter instead of a number on the main menu screen - you may find that it causes an error that could have been trapped. Playability isn't exactly great but I happened to find this game memorable due to the loud, vivid graphics and unconventional setting and objectives.
It is a curiosity for a few minutes, but probably no more than that.
Review by dandyboy on 28 Dec 2010 (Rating: 4)
I agree with DigitalPrawn in that De Copas en Nueva York is a quite a unique piece of retro-Spanish software with an uncommon setting and uncommon goals.
I love this game for its simplicity and also for its bizarre and eccentric glamour ... -in fact I believe this must be the most glamorous game ever alongside the Pink Panter !!!- the setting is very inspiring and original and it is also filled with flashing lights and bright colors ...
On the personal side this strange little game also brings many fond memories back to me because I used to play this with my missed grandfather Emilio at his home here in Spain, and I used to have great times with him.
A unique piece of BASIC software full of color and glamour that takes me back in time to when I was a child in the early 80´s.
In the same vein as De Copas en Nueva York I can also recommend some of the games that came with the ZX magazine edited in Spain during the 80´s ... especially El Coloso en Llamas and also En Busca del WC. You can find both games clicking here:
http://proyectobasiczx.wordpress.com/?s=en+busca+del+wc
http://proyectobasiczx.wordpress.com/?s=el+coloso+en+llamas
Good luck !! ;)
