The Lynx port of Atari Games‘ 1987 arcade game, Xybots, was developed by NuFX, Inc. and first released by Atari Corporation in 1991. It is a futuristic third-person shooter where you explore a maze full of deadly robots, to ultimately confront the ‘Master Xybot‘ and defeat it.

Most levels have an obvious exit, but also a hidden exit which will warp players multiple levels onward. These are usually hidden behind a door that requires a key to open.

Controlling the player character is simple enough, but one thing you need to get your head around quickly is how to rotate the view around. You basically hold down the ‘B’ button and turn left or right and that switches the view 90 degrees. Pressing the ‘A’ button fires your gun.

Pressing ‘Option 2’ brings up a map and shows your energy level, which is the only place you can see how much life you have left. When your energy reaches zero you get disintegrated and the game ends. Collecting orange ‘energy orbs’ will replenish some of your health, and you do need to keep your eye on it because it constantly drops over time.

Enemies have different behaviours and some are more deadly than others, so it’s a good idea to identify them and learn how to deal with them without losing too much energy. Defeated enemies sometimes drop coins, and you can also find money lying around in some places. Collect as much cash as you can and spend it on upgrades at vending machines between levels.

Xybots is a decent port and a very good game on the Lynx. Just like the arcade game, Xybots can be played by two players simultaneously by connecting their Lynxes together with a ComLynx cable.

More: Xybots on Wikipedia