No Escape

No Escape is an Atari 2600 video game developed and published by Imagic in 1983. The player controls Jason, leader of the Argonauts, who fights off the Furies sent by the Greek gods. A two-player mode, in which the second player competes against the first turn-by-turn, is also available.^[2]

No Escape is a video game developed by Bits Corporation and published by Psygnosis for the Sega Genesis and by Sony Imagesoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, based on the film of the same name.

Gameplay – No Escape

No Escape is a game in which the player is the inmate Robbins trying to escape the Absolom penal colony island.^[1

No Escape begins with Jason imprisoned in the temple of Aphrodite due to stealing the Golden Fleece. Jason must survive against waves of attacking Furies, and the gameplay revolves around having Jason pick up and throw rocks. in No Escape player needs to hit the ceiling of the temple, causing a brick to fall onto a Fury; throwing a rock directly at a Fury causes two more Furies to appear in its place.

Gameplay is focused around timing the falling brick to intersect with the moving Furies. Subsequent levels increase the difficulty by having the Furies shoot back at the player, fly around faster, and move in different patterns.^[3]

The game may be played in single-player mode, or in a two-player mode where each player takes turns.^[4]

Release – No Escape

Imagic released No Escape in April 1983. The game included an offer for a free Zircon Video Command joystick by mailing in a coupon from the instruction manual.^[5]

Reception – No Escape

The game’s action was well received as a cross between Breakout and Space Invaders.^[6] Hardcore Gaming 101 called the game a “rare gem” and said it has a “completely different feel to any other shooter from that time, or, for that matter, any other shooter since”.^[2] IGN called it a “strange shooter” but also complimented its “compelling gameplay and some very attractive visuals”.^[1] The game was also praised for its final animation showing Jason escaping on Pegasus.^[7]^[4]

No Escape received positive reviews for its gameplay, with GameFAQs writing that its playability was “very good”, going on to say: “Jason is easy to control and doesn’t move too fast or too slow for the tempo of the game. The difficulty increases gradually, and you find yourself trying to beat your last score.”^[6]

In a 1983 review from Electronic Fun with Computers & Games, Imagic was praised for delivering a game with the right balance, providing a “challenge that the player can neither overcome nor resist playing again and again.”^[8] Conversely, videogamecritic.com criticized the game’s difficulty at later levels.^[9]

Development and release – No Escape

No Escape was released for two platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis.^[2] The never-released Sega CD version was planned to include this feature as well and was advertised, but was cancelled for unknown reasons.^[3]

Reception – No Escape

Next Generation reviewed the Genesis version of the game, rating it one star out of five, and stated that “the only way to no escape the annoying gameplay, repetitive soundtrack, and frustrating control is to not get caught buying this game!”

References – No Escape

^ Jump up to:^a ^b Buchanan, Levi (21 January 2009). “Top 5 Imagic Games for Atari 2600”. IGN. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
^ Jump up to:^a ^b Gill, Charles (3 August 2017). “No Escape!”. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
^ Jump up to:^a ^b Nobles, Ethan (3 August 2002). “No Escape”. The Atari Times. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
^ “No Escape! (Atari 2600)”. MobyGames. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
^ Jump up to:^a ^b ihuntley (6 March 2003). “No Escape! – Review”. GameFAQs. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
^ “No Escape for the Atari 2600”. Retroist. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
^ “No Escape!”. The Video Game Critic. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2022.