Battlezone (Atari 2600)
2The ancient Atari 2600 from 1977 is back, and we have an early tank game long before War Thunder or World of Tanks, called Battlezone. Released during the infamous game crash of 1983, this war game is based on the arcade game made three years prior. However, the port on the 2600 masquerades as being a separate game in its own right, as it is actually 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 different from the arcade (and more playable), and the game itself is one of the few games that pushed the '70s system to its limit in graphics. I played the game four times, the first three going up in difficulty setting. The key is to watch the radar constantly, listen for enemy shots, and NEVER stand still.
The objective of the game is survive as long as you can by shooting down enemy tanks and other hazards with presumably your M48 Patton (the main battle tank at the time), while avoiding them at the same time. Only two enemies appear at a time and they share the same limitation of firing one shot on-screen. As you would expect, the game gets harder as the score increases, and eventually, boss-level tanks called Supertanks will pop up and they are very dangerous. Once two of them appear (if you're lucky to see it happening), you might as well kiss your butt goodbye.
Easy: 0:00-4:57
Normal: 4:58-9:09
Hard: 9:10-18:01
Watch the Supertanks: 18:02-18:45
The enemies are:
Tank - The blue ones are the normal enemy, and they're a bit slower than you. 1000 points in score.
Fighters - These I presume are special helicopters and they always appear in front of you zigzagging from the horizon. I do not even bother attacking them and immediately dodge, because they're hard to hit and once they reach point-black they vanish and fire a shot directly at you, making it impossible to dodge unless you absolutely are moving away from it. 2000 points in score.
Supertanks - When you see these guys, WATCH OUT, as they're basically the regular enemy tanks going Super Saiyan. The tanks with yellow turrets are more agile than an M1 Abrams and can easily outrun and shoot you down if you're not careful. If you're lucky enough to see two, well, you're a sitting duck, as the game now becomes virtually impossible to survive even if you're an expert. They only appear when your score reaches a high level. 3000 points in score.
Flying Saucer - The red UFOs pose no threat but they have the highest score. However, they are tough to shoot at due to their erratic movement, and are meant to distract you from all the other enemies. They never appear in two. 5000 points in score.
It is possible for enemies to crash into each other. If that occurs, they will destroy each other and their score WILL add up together!
Battlezone ©1980, 1983 Atari
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