Tempest

 
Tempest is a unique alien-fighting arcade game due to the fact that the enemies are actually in front of you, rather than floating on the top of the screen. When other companies were having you fight invaders with 2D sprites, Atari used 3D vector graphics that allowed you to face your opponents head on. Because of it's unique design, and the enjoyable variety in level structure and enemies, this game had a lot going for it when it came out. Unfortunately, what made it good then causes it to suffer now.

Thanks to it's use of unconventional controls, Tempest is fantastic on the original arcade cabinets, and rather disappointing in it's rereleases. The arcade machine is designed with an analog dial for movement, allowing players to navigate with extreme precision. Needless to say, modern consoles don't really have dials, so ports of this game have to settle for d-pads or joysticks. Unfortunately, neither of those options offer the kind of precision that this game was built for, causing it to suffer. It's wonderful that the game is being preserved, but it will probably never have a perfect recreation available.

I enjoy Tempest a lot, and it's hard to find a game that compares in gameplay or delivery. Sadly, the modern releases don't really compare either. If you see this game in person, I think it would be worth your quarters. Otherwise, you're better off looking for something else.
The game is playable online here (as of 10/5/20): https://my.ign.com/atari/tempest
The game is available for Steam at this link (as of 10/5/20): http://store.steampowered.com/app/400020/Atari_Vault/

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