Tempest 2000

For those of you who didn't have a chance to catch this game on the Jaguar, you'll get the chance soon enough. Heralded by some as the best game to grace the Jaguar system, It will soon be seen on the Saturn and the PlayStation.

Jeff Minter did the original Jaguar version, and his original concepts have been directly ported to the Saturn version. The graphics in Tempest 2000 are vector-based, just like the classic arcade game. There are four games inside Tempest 2000: Classic, Plus, 2000 and Duel.

Classic is the coin-op game of the past, in all its vector glory. No jumping here, just our trusty gun and super-zapper. This is Tempest in its simplest form and where beginners should start before working up to 2000 Mode.

Tempest Plus is the halfway point between Classic and 2000. including some of the polygon graphics of 2000, but it still has the plain vector graphics for the game boards. Go at the game alone or play cooperatively with a friend or an Al droid.

The 2000 Mode kicks the polygons into the game, throws in a ton of power-ups for good measure and gives you the option of opening up graphically amazing bonus rounds. Duel Mode pits two players head-to-head in a game to the death.

The boards vary in shape and size, with some boards being so big that some of it will be off-screen during gameplay. Moving your character around the board takes some getting used to. The left and right control is no substitute for the original paddle control of the arcade.

As amazing as the sound was for the Jaguar cartridge, the red book audio of the Saturn version is a real mind trip. True techno blasts from the speakers as you fly through each level, with a number of different tunes throughout the game's 100 levels. The speech has also been redone for the CD version. and it sounds amazing.

Fans of the Jaguar version will shed a tear of joy at the sight of Tempest 2000 finally on a system where it can be appreciated. Those who don't know what the Tempest addiction is should check it out. Shooting action doesn't get much better than this.

MANUFACTURER - Interplay

DIFFICULTY - Hard

THEME - Shooter

NUMBER OF PLAYERS - 1 or 2

One of the most popular games to grace the Atari Jaguar will soon be heading to the Saturn. Tempest 2000 brings old-style game-play and melds it with all-new vector graphics. You control a ship on one of several grids. You must destroy incoming enemy ships and collect the multitude of power-ups. Hidden areas and bonus levels await those players who are skilled enough to find them. This is a far cry from the original arcade game. Each level is faster and more furious than the last. Tempest 2000 instantly addicted players on the Jaguar with its high-intensity gameplay and radical sound.