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PUBLISHER: Imagic RELEASED: Prototype PROGRAM: Brad Stewart FORMAT: Cartridge

Sky Patrol for the Atari 2600 was another Imagic title that never saw the light of day at retail. The prototype rom has been circulating around the internet for years, but since the programming was never actually completed, the game is virtually unplayable. You can pilot the hot-air balloon around the skies, but there's very little hit detection and no real idea of what the actual goal of the game actually is. You can basically fire up the gas in order to make the hot-air balloon climb in altitude, but you have no real control over which direction the balloon moves in. You basically have to rely solely on the wind currents for any type of movement. You can float around watching the clouds drift by and you'll also see the occasional anti-aircraft site or enemy tank on the ground below. The visuals are very basic and it's clear that this game still had a ways to go before it could be called complete. It's nice to be able to see what might have been, but this isn't a game that you'll likely spend more than a few curious minutes with before losing interest in it altogether. Brad Stewart went up in a hot-air balloon with Imagic President Bill Grubb near the time he began work on Sky Patrol. Brad also stated in a past interview that his idea for Sky Patrol came about as a result of being part of a hot-air balloon ground crew during his college days and learning some of the ins and outs of how a hot-air balloon was actually piloted. He decided to put these techniques to use in a game and thus Sky Patrol was born. He said that he had several different ideas for the play control in the game ranging from timed balloon flights to having to defend and rescue troops on the ground below. Unfortunately, he was never able to finish the game before Imagic went under and now all that's left is an unfinished prototype rom.

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