Tempest

71 1981-10-01 • Shooter, Arcade • Atari

About the game

You control a yellow crab-shaped shooter that travels along the outside rim of a 3-dimensional tunnel, shooting enemies down the alleys of the tunnel while avoiding any coming down the alleys. The tunnel takes on many different forms, and the shooter has a special "superzapper" that enables it to kill all enemies present in the tunnel.

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Details

Genres
Shooter • Arcade
Game Modes
Single player • Multiplayer
Platforms and release dates

Arcade

1981-10-01

bbcmicro • Acorn Electron

1985

ZXS • ACPC

1987

Atari-ST

1989
Developers
Atari
Publishers
Electric Dreams Software • Superior Software • Atari • Atari Corporation
Other companies
Paradox Software
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Ratings

45
IGDB2 ratings

Images

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Other games Atari

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Description

You control a yellow crab-shaped shooter that travels along the outside rim of a 3-dimensional tunnel, shooting enemies down the alleys of the tunnel while avoiding any coming down the alleys. The tunnel takes on many different forms, and the shooter has a special "superzapper" that enables it to kill all enemies present in the tunnel.

Tempest is a 1981 arcade game by Atari Inc., designed and programmed by Dave Theurer. It takes place on a three-dimensional surface, sometimes wrapped into a tube, which is viewed from one end and is divided into a dozen or more segments or lanes. The player controls a claw-shaped spaceship (named Blaster) that crawls along the near edge of the playfield, moving from segment to segment. Tempest was one of the first games to use Atari's Color-QuadraScan vector display technology. It was also the first game to allow the player to choose their starting level (a system Atari dubbed "SkillStep"). This feature increases the maximum starting level depending on the player's performance in the previous game, essentially allowing the player to continue. An official port was released for the Atari ST. An official port that bears the Atari logo was released by Superior Software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1985, and another by Electric Dreams for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1987. Versions for the Atari 2600 and 5200 were in the works in Atari, Inc. during 1984, and unfinished prototypes exist for both of them.

Details

Genres
Shooter • Arcade
Game Modes
Single player • Multiplayer
Platforms and release dates

Arcade

1981-10-01

bbcmicro • Acorn Electron

1985

ZXS • ACPC

1987

Atari-ST

1989
Developers
Atari
Publishers
Electric Dreams Software • Superior Software • Atari • Atari Corporation
Other companies
Paradox Software