Tempest 2000 — BrandWiki

Tempest 2000

title	Tempest 2000
developer	Llamasoft Imagitec Design (DOS) High Voltage Software (PS1/SAT) Logicware (Mac)
publisher	Atari Corporation Jaguar NA/EU: Atari Corporation JP: Mumin Corporation MS-DOS NA/EU: Atari Interactive Saturn NA/EU: Interplay Productions PlayStation NA/EU: Interplay Productions Macintosh NA: Logicware
producer	John Skruch
designer	Jeff Minter
programmer	Jeff Minter
artist	Joby Wood
writer	Joe Sousa
composer	Alastair Lindsay Ian Howe Kevin Saville
series	Tempest
platforms	Atari Jaguar Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
release	13 April 1994 Jaguar NA: 13 April 1994 EU: 27 June 1994 JP: 15 December 1994 MS-DOS NA/EU: 31 October 1996 PlayStation NA: 29 November 1996‡R1R‡ EU: 1 February 1997 Saturn NA: 20 December 1996 EU: 20 March 1997‡R2R‡ Macintosh NA: 1998
genre	Tube shooter
modes	Single-player, multiplayer

Tempest 2000 (テンペスト 2000) is a 1994 tube shooter video game originally developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar.[3] Part of Atari Corp.'s 2000 series,[4] it is a remake of the 1981 arcade game Tempest.

Taking control of the claw-shaped Blaster spacecraft from the original game, the player must survive and travel across multiple levels until the end of an intergalactic war, battling against a variety of enemies that appear on the playfield. Designed by Jeff Minter, it is a remake of Dave Theurer's Tempest, which used Atari's QuadraScan vector color display technology.[5] Initially an exclusive for the Jaguar, Tempest 2000 was ported following Jaguar's discontinuation to other platforms:

Release and versions

Tempest 2000 was originally released for the Atari Jaguar in 1994 in all regions including Japan, where it was published by Mumin Corporation[26][27] and came with an exclusive Japanese manual for the region. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Macintosh, Sega Saturn and PlayStation, the latter version with several changes to the design under the name of Tempest X3. The Jaguar version was included as part of the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration compilation for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam, and Xbox One, marking the game's first re-release.[28][29]

PCs

The MS-DOS version, programmed by Imagitec Design, contains optional AdLib and Roland MT-32 versions of the music, but lacks several of the visual effects of the console versions, such as the "Melt-O-Vision" transition effects. The Windows version is rendered in higher resolution, and has some unique glitches, like registering bonus level scores incorrectly. The Macintosh version was developed and published by Logicware in 1998.[30]

Tempest X3

Tempest X3, the Sony PlayStation version, was released in 1996, with updated graphics and sound, although the following gameplay differences from the original version were identified by Jeff Minter in a Usenet post:[31]

Entering the name "YIFF!" or "H_V_S" on the top highscore position activates a secret mode, allowing the user to play the original Tempest 2000 game.[32] Any high scores made in this mode are not saved, the music (wave-captured from the original modules) is muffled and the effectiveness of the Particle Laser against spikes is not restored.

The PlayStation version of Tempest X3 supports the PlayStation Mouse, Nyko Trackball and Namco's rotary neGcon analog controller.[33]

The "AI Droid" only follows the player, instead of acting autonomously. A new, "Mega Droid" powerup rectifies this somewhat, but it takes a very long time within a level to acquire it.

Saturn

The Saturn version, programmed by High Voltage Software,[34] is close to the original Jaguar version, except for the removal of the third type of bonus level. It uses most of the audio tracks from the Tempest 2000 soundtrack CD for gameplay. The speech samples were redone.[35]

Reception

Tempest 2000 received general critical acclaim when released for the Jaguar.[62][63] GamePro praised the graphics and high speed, said the music included "the best techno-rave tracks anywhere", and deemed the two-player competitive mode "well worth the price of the cart."[64] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it their "Game of the Month" award, citing the "superb" techno soundtrack and "graphics that surpass the arcade version".[44] GameFan also gave the Jaguar version a positive review.[46] In a 1995 overview of Atari's history, Next Generation said of Tempest 2000 that "This single game probably did more for Atari's reputation than anything the company's marketing team had managed in the last five years."[65] Tempest 2000 sold more than 30,000 copies, making it the second best-selling game on the platform behind Alien vs Predator, though it is unknown how many were sold in total during its lifetime as of 1 April 1995.[8]

The PlayStation version was much less well received. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot and Scary Larry of GamePro both said that it offers too few enhancements or additions over the by-then more than two years old Jaguar version.[48][66] Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly questioned why the Jaguar game had received such acclaim in the first place, opining it was simply an outdated arcade game with some extra "glitter" which has no bearing on the essence of the game, and that the PlayStation version was essentially the same. Sushi-X felt that it paled against the Jaguar version, lacking the smoothness of the original release.[45] Gerstmann, Hsu, Boyer, and Sushi-X also complained that the game suffers from poor control in the absence of a rotary controller like the original Tempest's.[48][45] However, a Next Generation critic gave it a positive review, opining it retained the elements which made the Jaguar version great and that the enhancements were strong enough to make it fresh.[50]

Reviewing the Saturn version, Paul Glancey of Sega Saturn Magazine recalled the impact of the game's original release on the Jaguar: "... Jeff Minter had pepped up the gameplay with a barrage of eye-warping pixel explosions, swirling, smearing colour effects and a 'banging' ravey soundtrack. ... Turn down the lights, turn up the colour, run the sound through your hi-fi then jam up the bass and the volume and you could enjoy a gaming experience so hypnotic as to be almost mind-altering." He concluded that the Saturn port, though slightly inferior to the Jaguar original, effectively recreated this experience for Saturn owners.[56]

Entertainment Weekly gave the game an A− and wrote that "An update of the arcade shooting classic, Tempest 2000 is multimedia in the truest sense, with psychedelic graphics, a CD-quality soundtrack, breathy voice samples (the words superzapper recharge have never sounded more erotic), even text that scrolls past at dizzying speeds. The one weakness is the often-unresponsive Jaguar control pad."[52]

In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 17th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time."[67] Tempest 2000 was also awarded Best Jaguar Game of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.[58]