Tempest 4000 Updates An Arcade Classic With Just Enough Newness
Throwbacks to games of yore have been a huge market for the last 20 years, whether it’s a long-awaited sequel or a reboot.
We seem to be living in a time where people need a little “old fashion,” and some prolific and infamous game companies and publishers have done their best to strike while the iron is hot. Atari is one such publisher who has worked with a plethora of developers with various IPs under their flag.
Their most recent nostalgic foray is Tempest 4000, a blast from the past that is available on PC, Switch Atari VCS, and last-gen consoles.
Developed by Llamasoft, Tempest 4000 is a shoot ’em up video game. Players take control of the Claw, a spacecraft that can shoot at enemies and obstructions. Levels take place on geometric prisms. The goal of the game is to survive each level by eliminating enemies as soon as possible and to achieve high scores for leaderboard positions. The game features one hundred levels and three game modes: standard, pure, and endurance.
Each mode is more challenging than the next, and for those interested here are a few details straight from the marketing material:
- Arcade Style Shooter: Blast down hordes of enemies in this fast-paced arcade style shoot ’em up.
- Unparalleled Graphics: Experience Tempest 4000‘s mind-blowing graphics in beautiful 4K resolution.
- Level Up: Progress and clear through 100 unique geometric levels by destroying enemies with various weapons and power-ups and earn upgrades through bonus rounds.
- Climb to the Top of the Leaderboards: Post your high score in your quest to be recognized as number one on the leaderboards.
- Retro Techno Soundtrack: Enjoy the beats of a thumping soundtrack inspired by early 1990’s techno.
- Old School Gameplay: Feeling nostalgic? Relive the traditional gameplay of the original Tempest with enhanced graphics on current generation consoles.
This is a sequel to Tempest, a game from the halcyon days of quarter-munching arcade machines, so you will find nothing that resembles a narrative.
The music does justice to its forebearers, and I find it fast paced and thrilling
And last but not least the gameplay, and what can I say? It plays like Tempest, and sometimes it’s best to stick to the script (Looking at you Contra Rogue Corps., I will never forgive!)
But I digress. My rating for Tempest 4000 is 7 out of 10.
