Michael Powell‘s Powerdrome is a futuristic 3D racing game that pre-dates WipEout. It was first published by Electronic Arts for the Atari ST in 1988.
Tag Archives: pioneering
Leaderboard, Atari ST
For a while, in the mid Eighties, Access Software‘s Leaderboard hung on to the title of “best golf game on the planet”. Starting on the Commodore 64 and ending here on the Atari ST (and Amiga) in 1986.
Frontier: Elite II, Atari ST
While all the other space exploration and combat games on 16-bit home computers flail around in their own mucky diapers, Frontier: Elite II makes a mockery of everything else in its class by not only being a staggering piece of programming, but also a damn fine, playable game too.
Moon Patrol, Arcade
Moon Patrol is an early colour arcade shooter, released by Irem in 1982.
It was distinctive because you drove a vehicle, at the bottom of the screen, and had to jump over craters and obstacles, as well as shoot aliens in the sky. So you are keeping an eye on the road, while at the same time shooting enemies flying above you. This was a neat innovation at the time and earned Irem some respect.
Zaxxon, Arcade
Sega‘s Zaxxon is an early arcade shooter that broke the mould. It was first released in 1982.
Galaga, Arcade
Namco‘s Galaga – the sequel to Galaxian – came out in 1981 and was an immediate hit with gamers.
Gone were the days of Space Invaders and rigid attack patterns – the baddies in Galaga danced around the screen; made circles, and flew around in distinct and fluid attack patterns. It was new and it was revolutionary!
Tempest, Arcade
Tempest, by Dave Theurer, is one of the first ever ‘tube shooters’. It was released by Atari in 1981.
You control a spider-like yellow craft that walks along the edge of a 3D playfield, often taking the form of a cylindrical tube. You shoot bullets down the tube at enemies that are rising upwards to get you. Thus the name ‘tube shooter’.
Centipede, Arcade
Designed by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey, Centipede is a superfast fixed-screen shoot ’em up from the arcades of 1981.
Moon Cresta, Arcade
Moon Cresta was released by Nichibutsu in 1980 and was extremely popular in arcades.
It is another colourful, fixed-screen shooter, this time with a scrolling starfield to give the impression of movement.
Phoenix, Arcade
Phoenix is another great vertical shoot ’em up from the golden age of video gaming. It was developed by Amstar Electronics of Arizona and manufactured by Centuri in 1980, and featured even more progressive gameplay than Space Invaders and Galaxian.
The King of Grabs 