Previous Next

One of the more mundane aspects of a space pilot's life is stargate duty.

You're sat in your ship, the Claw, leisurely moving around the rim of the stargate keeping a wary eye for unwelcome visitors. Occasionally however things get a little more hectic when a squadron of aliens tries a little stargate crashing. Tempest from Superior is based around one of these occasions.

The stargate is a wire frame construction drawn in perspective down into the screen. The exact shape of the structure varies from level to level. Perched, precariously on the rim of the gate you' are attacked by ever increasing numbers of assorted aliens. These make their way slowly up the gate, increasing in size as they approach. Using your left and right rotate controls you flip around the rim of the gate firing your lasers down on to the enemy. A more effective way of vaporising the aliens is to use your super zapper, but you are only allowed one such zap per screen.

There are a multitude of different meanies, some split into two when hit, some leave a nasty green spike in their wake. These spikes must be avoided at all costs when your claw is catapulted down the stargate at the end of each successfully cleared screen.

Having played Tempest in the arcades on several occasions I was slightly disappointed 'to find that the Beeb version was written using Mode 5, but once I got accustomed to the low resolution screen the game was just as exhilarating as the original.

J.R.