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The following is from the Arcade Museum:

Name: Tempest
Developer: Atari

Year: 1981
Type: Videogame

Class: Wide Release
Genre: Space
Monitor:

• Orientation: Vertical
• Type: Vector
• CRT: Color
• 19-inch Wells-Gardner 19K6100

Conversion Class: unique
Game Specific: Tempest Pinout
Settings: Tempest Dipswitch Settings

Number of Simultaneous Players: 1
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Alternating
Control Panel Layout: Single Player
Controls:

• Rotary: Optical
• Buttons: 2 [FireSuperzap]

Sound: Unamplified Mono (requires one-channel amp)

Cabinet Styles:

• Upright/Standard
• Upright/Standard (294 lbs – TNT Amusements)
• Cocktail
• Cabaret/Mini

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.

Atari released 139 different machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1972.

Other machines made by Atari during the time period Tempest was produced include Triangle, Tempest Tubes, Pipeline, Maze Invaders, Neutron Star, Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Asteroids Deluxe, and Monte Carlo.

Game Introduction

You are given a vanishing-point perspective from the top, looking down into a geometric shape. The shapes vary from a line, to a triangle, to a circle, to more complex shapes. Enemies enter from the bottom and work their way up towards the top. Collision with an enemy or an enemy’s shot is fatal.

A level is cleared when all the enemies have been destroyed, or the only enemies left are the red shooters that have reached the top of the tunnel. When proceeding to the next level, shoot and destroy, or avoid, the green spikes that are left over, as a collision with them is fatal.

The superzapper will destroy all the enemies on screen the first time it is used. The second time has a much more limited effect. The superzapper will not work a third time. However, the superzapper recharges itself at the start of each new level. The final levels of the game are the green, which begin at level 81, and repeat thereafter with no increase in difficulty.

*Images shown are the actual pictures of the game that is for sale.*

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