Tempest 2000

Review

by Colin Williamson

The revival of classic arcade games from the early Eighties has frequently proven fruitless, in the case of Hasbro's Frogger, and Activision's Asteroids. However, the man behind Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar, Jeff Minter, is a hard-core fan of the original intense shooter, and man, does it show. Tempest 2000 has received a beautiful and brilliant facelift that takes the classic blaster to the next generation.

If you've never experienced the joy of a classic Tempest machine, here's how it works: you're a small, claw-shaped spacecraft that hugs the edge of a tunnel. Things start flying at you at high speeds, and you have to shoot them before they get you. To help you out, you're given something called a "Superzapper" that nukes everything on the screen at once, but you can only use it one time each level. After you've blasted enough baddies, you can move on to the next level. Simple!

The original Tempest was a vector, wire-frame game, but Llamasoft has enhanced the visuals with beautiful shaded Tempest webs, and insane-looking particle explosions that scatters enemies all over the screen. The action never slows down; you've got to keep rotating around the screen, shooting at whatever comes at you, from red beasties to the much-feared Death's Heads. As you pick up special particle spheres, you're granted powerups that range from jumping abilities to an artificial intelligence droid that follows you around and helps you out. Adding to the game's intensity is an amazing techno soundtrack from Imagitec Design, which is one of the best I've ever heard on cartridge or CD.

If you dug on the original Tempest, there's no doubt Tempest 2000 and its multiple play modes will float your boat. This is one of the few must-buy Jaguar titles.