Tempest (1980)

A famous game in the realm of arcade gaming, Tempest became infamous for its simple gameplay and unique experience. In a downward tunnel lie enemies that climb towards you, firing their blasters at you. Your goal is to use your ship to navigate around the pit and fire your own blaster before they can make it to the top and attack you directly. You are also given a select number of Super Zappers to destroy all the ships on the screen.

Above: Your impending doom from the abyss.

Though unlike the other games reviewed so far, this one has a unique appearance due to the vector graphics that project the tunnel, ships, and blaster fire with lines. This was probably the more noteworthy aspects that really allow for the believability that enemies were coming up the tunnel in addition to being pretty freaking awesome to watch. One initial problem I had with gameplay was the fact that holding down the fire button fired an almost constant stream of lasers. Though this does make fighting the endless waves of enemies manageable, it does make early states as simplistic button mashing and holding a single direction. However, in later stages this becomes difficult and almost essential.

Soon their fire is less of a threat and instead the only reason they're alive.

Soon the tunnel starts taking on different shapes, making maneuvering much more difficult up until you are on almost flat plane that doesn't allow for circular travel. This almost makes this button mashing and constant fire useful if not necessary as the difficulty rises. Overall I'd have to say that I enjoyed playing this for its different and interesting presentation.


Final Judgment: 7/10