Previous Next

This is the Atari approved version of their arcade game Tempest, and the game adheres very closely to the original.

The game involves your crab-like space craft moving around the outside of a 'Stargate' shooting all the aliens ascending the sectors. There are nine different screens and an infinite number of levels. At level 49 the stargate disappears and you are left playing on a blank background - very difficult.

The game was launched with full page colour advertising claiming that this game was 'destined to become a 1985 top-seller...'. The packaging consists of a cassette inlay card with the instructions and frame descriptions printed on the reverse. This describes the name, shape, colour, value and frame number of the first appearance of each enemy.

The aliens are represented by different geometric shapes, which advance outwards from the centre of the screen. The graphics are very fast, but the mode 2 resolution lets the game down with its ragged edges. Although the game itself is excellent, the keys selected to control it are less satisfactory. The original arcade game had a paddle that could be indeinitely turned through 360 degrees, which made travelling around the outside of the stargate easier.

The game is smooth, fast and furious, and provided exhilarating game-playing. The graphics are excellent but the sound effects only moderate. Despite the rather poor resolution of the graphics I can still recommend this game.