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Tempest was a breathtaking
experience in the arcade. It arrived on the scene in
1980 and there was nothing quite like it; and I'd argue
that there's been nothing quite like it since.
It is still one of my top 10
ten games and only stories of how often the now aging
colour vector displays break down prevent me from
installing a cabinet at home.
The game itself is quite
difficult to explain - you control a cannon that moves
around one end of a wire frame shape (which changes from
level to level) and you must prevent various
enemies from getting to your end of the frame.
They start at the opposite
end and (initially at least) slowly make their way
toward you. Some fire at you, others just want to get to
your end of the frame and move toward your
cannon - contact with an enemy or bullet results in you
losing a life.
The game has a very abstract look and it's obvious that
the 360/Wii/DS's Geometry Wars is inspired by the enemy
design which consists of abstract wireframe shapes of
different colours. These enemies are quite varied and
display their own behaviors.
Your cannon is equipped with
rapid fire and a smart bomb that can be used once per
level (called a superzapper).
The levels vary wildly in layout - initially tube-shaped
levels see your cannon move around the top end of the
tube; the enemies swarming around at the bottom of the
level before moving up the tube toward you.
These level layouts soon
give way to wilder designs - one looks like a huge
bowling alley, another warped into a figure of eight.
The cannon is highly maneuverable due to the excellent
paddle control scheme which features a lovely sense of
inertia. Twisting the paddle controller quickly and
letting go will result in it spinning on for a few
revolutions before brilliantly applied friction brings
it to a stop - and your on-screen cannon accurately
follows this.
The game is quite hardcore due to its highly abstract
look and high difficulty level despite the high speed
that you can move and shoot in this game.
Later levels increase the
speed and ferocity of the enemies and new ones are
introduced. One great idea is the spiker. When a level
is cleared, your cannon zooms down to the other end of
the frame - spikers leave a spike behind as they move up
the frame and your cannon can be skewered on one if you
don't quickly shoot the spike away or move to a safe
spot at the level's end.
There is also the pulsar
which electrifies its part of the frame which will take
your cannon out if it is in line with the pulsar when it
does this trick.
The game's graphics were accompanied by great sound
effects - the deep base of a pulsar pulsing, and the
whoosh you hear when zooming down the frame at the end
of the level are only two highlights.
The UK indie coder Jeff Minter created a remake of this
game for Atari's last great hope - the Jaguar which if
reviews are to be believed was more or less the only
game on that console worth playing.
Perhaps I'm being unkind to
the console (and I have to admit to not playing any
Jaguar game) but this game was certainly the reason to
buy the console around the time it was
released.
The game was called Tempest
2000 and it was ported to the PlayStation; renamed
Tempest X and featured some gameplay tweaks, and also
the Saturn where it retained its original moniker and
gameplay.
There are two main reasons I approached this game with
caution. First of all the display - how could those
needle sharp glowing colour vectors which were part of
the game experience be adapted for a TV? Also, how could
the sublimely subtle control be replicated on a digital
pad?
The game has been given a new graphical overcoat - and
it looks great.
The levels and enemies are
still abstract, but they, and the levels now feature
some lovely shading effects that update the look of the
game without compromising its feel.
The sounds have been
slightly retouched too and are accompanied by
techno-type tracks. (You'll have to cut me some slack
here as I'm too old to know what that means).
They are pleasing and fit
into the game very well.
The control isn't as good as the arcade original -
nothing is a replacement for a paddle - but the new
scheme is perfectly serviceable.
You move the cannon
left/right or clockwise/anti-clockwise (depending on the
level design) by using left and right on the d-pad. This
does take some getting used to - especially on the
levels you rotate around as the controls are sometimes
the opposite of what you might think they should be.
This problem is reminiscent of the one you get in flying
games or 1st person shooters where moving or looking up
and down is the reverse of what you expect it to be on
the control stick (indeed many games allow you to select
which scheme you want as game players seem to be split
on this).
Another example of this is
in Micro Machines when the cars are moving down the
screen and the left/right controls are reversed. It
feels a bit weird at first but you soon adapt to it if
you aren't fortunate enough to find them second nature.
Tempest 2000 on Saturn gives you 4 modes of play:
Original is a remake of the original game and frankly
isn't a very accurate one - Minter has admitted to
cobbling this together from memory and some details are
missing.
It's OK but the original
game hasn't been satisfactory recreated for me on any
medium but the original cabinet.
Then there is Tempest Plus
which is the original game but with the new visuals and
sounds and its all the better for it.
There is also a 2 player
battle mode (called Duel) which has each player on their
own side of the level shooting at each other. It looks
pretty good but I have to admit to not having any
experience of playing this mode.
However the star of the show is Tempest 2000 mode which
adds new enemies and gameplay features to go with the
new look and feel. Powerups now shoot up the level
towards you after dispatching enemies and if you catch
them with your cannon you get stuff like increased
firepower, a jump move which is very useful - allowing
you to avoid enemies that reach your end of the level,
and even a droid buddy who joins in with you blasting
away at the enemies under CPU control.
There are new enemies - these include demon heads with
detachable horns that fly at you after you destroy the
head, UFOs that fly above the level and become a problem
when you start jumping off the level, and mirrors that
will deflect your shots back at you if you fire at them
at the wrong time.
These are all great additions to the game and really up
its pace and complexity.
If you collect enough
powerups you also get a warp token. Collect enough of
these and at the end of the level you get to play a
bonus game - the more successful you are at this game
the further forward you warp through levels (and earn a
big bonus). These bonus games are very different from
the main game and inject a change of pace into
proceedings.
This is a quite brilliant and unique game - but one for
those who are into their manic shooters.
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