X-Out (video game)

Last updated
X-Out
X-OutBoxShotAmiga.jpg
Developer(s) Arc Development
Rainbow Arts
Platform(s) Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum,
Release1989: C64
1990: Amiga, ST, Spectrum, CPC
Genre(s) Scrolling shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

X-Out (pronounced "cross out") [lower-alpha 1] is a horizontally scrolling shooter with eight levels set underwater. It was released by Rainbow Arts in 1989 for the Commodore 64, and in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC. A sequel, Z-Out , was released in 1990.

Contents

On January 13, 2022, Ziggurat Interactive announced that they had acquired the rights to the game. [1] A remake, titled X-Out: Resurfaced, was announced in August 2024. It is being developed by Kritzelkratz 3000 and published by ININ Games. [2]

Gameplay

Before starting the game and between levels, the player visits a shop and uses their game score to purchase new submarines and equipment. The submarines come in four different variants, and additional purchases act as additional "lives". Each can be equipped with a one-way, two-way or three-way fire weapon of increasing power (and thus cost). Secondary weapons include sonic waves, power-shots and target-seeking missiles. The player can also purchase auxiliary satellites and specify their movement pattern, which can be circular orbits, vertical and horizontal movements, or an intercepting action.

Reception

Your Sinclair gave the ZX Spectrum version a score of 84%, highlighting the comprehensive shop sequence and large, well-animated enemies. Criticisms included the monochrome graphics which were said to be a little confusing, and the lack of a sense of danger. [3]

A retrospective review for the Amiga version from HonestGamers scored the game 4/5, praising some of the game's atypical design choices, but complaining that the final stage outstays its welcome. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Wonder Boy in Monster Land</i> 1987 video game

Wonder Boy in Monster Land, known by its original arcade release as Wonder Boy: Monster Land, is a platform video game developed by Westone Bit Entertainment and released by Sega in Japanese arcades in 1987 and for the Master System in 1988, with a number of other home computer and console ports following. The game is the sequel to the 1986 game Wonder Boy and takes place eleven years after the events in the previous game. After enjoying over a decade of peace on Wonder Land following the defeat of the evil King by Tom-Tom, later bestowed the title "Wonder Boy", a fire-breathing dragon called the MEKA dragon appeared; he and his minions conquered Wonder Land, turning it into "Monster Land". The people, helpless due to their lack of fighting skill, call for Wonder Boy, now a teenager, to destroy the monsters and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players control Wonder Boy through twelve linear levels as he makes his way through Monster Land to find and defeat the MEKA dragon. Players earn gold by defeating enemies and buy weapons, armor, footwear, magic, and other items to help along the way.

<i>Laser Squad</i> 1988 video game

Laser Squad is a turn-based tactics video game, originally released for the ZX Spectrum and later for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga, Sharp MZ-800 and Atari ST and PC computers between 1988 and 1992. It was designed by Julian Gollop and his team at Target Games and published by Blade Software, expanding on the ideas applied in their earlier Rebelstar series. Laser Squad originally came with five mission scenarios, with an expansion pack released for the 8-bit versions, containing a further two scenarios.

<i>Stormlord</i> 1989 video game

Stormlord is a platform game developed and published by Hewson Consultants in 1989. It was released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, and MS-DOS. It was ported to the Sega Genesis by Punk Development for Razorsoft and published in 1990.

<i>Turrican</i> 1990 video game

Turrican is a 1990 video game developed by Manfred Trenz. It was developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, and was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64. A sequel, Turrican II: The Final Fight, followed in 1991 for the Commodore 64 and other platforms.

CDS Software was an independent publisher and developer of computer game software based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK.

<i>Nebulus</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.

<i>Zombi</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Zombi is an icon-driven action-adventure video game. It was Ubisoft's first publication, released in 1986. It was programmed by Yannick Cadin and S. L. Coemelck, with graphics by Patrick Daher and music by Philippe Marchiset.

<i>RoboCop 2</i> (video game) 1990 video game

RoboCop 2 is a platform shooter video game based on the 1990 film of the same name. The game was released for several platforms, including Amiga, Amstrad GX4000, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, and ZX Spectrum. Ocean Software developed and published several versions, and Data East manufactured an arcade version.

<i>Sanxion</i> 1986 video game

Sanxion is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Stavros Fasoulas for the Commodore 64 and published in 1986 by Thalamus Ltd. It was the first game released by Thalamus. A ZX Spectrum port followed in 1989. Fasoulas also wrote Delta and Quedex.

<i>Total Recall</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Total Recall is a 1990 platform game developed and published by Ocean Software that was released for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Nintendo Entertainment System. Total Recall is based on the 1990 film of the same name.

<i>Welltris</i> 1989 video game

Welltris is a puzzle video game, developed by Doca and licensed to Bullet-Proof Software. It is an official game in the Tetris series. Adaptations were made by Sphere, Inc., for Spectrum HoloByte, and by Infogrames. It was released for MS-DOS compatible operating systems in 1989. Ports for Macintosh, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST followed 1990, then ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 1991.

<i>Myth: History in the Making</i> 1989 video game

Myth: History in the Making is a 2D platform game developed and published by British publishing house System 3 for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Amiga CD32, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum. It was also released on the NES as Conan: The Mysteries of Time. It was officially announced for Atari ST and a preview version was available, but the full version was never released.

<i>Saboteur II: Avenging Angel</i> 1987 video game

Saboteur II: Avenging Angel, also known as Saboteur 2, is an action-adventure game created by Clive Townsend and released by Durell Software in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS compatible operating systems. A sequel to 1985's Saboteur, the player controls a sister of Ninja from the first game on a mission to avenge his death. Saboteur II was one of the first action-adventure games with a female protagonist and was well received by critics.

<i>Space Gun</i> (video game) 1990 first-person shooter arcade game

Space Gun is a 1990 first-person shooter arcade game released by Taito. The game is set aboard a crippled space station that has been overrun by hostile alien creatures. The objective is to rescue human crew members while destroying the alien creatures. The game lets the player shoot limbs off the creatures, resulting in blood splatters.

<i>Beyond the Ice Palace</i> 1988 video game

Beyond the Ice Palace is a platform game published by Elite Systems in 1988 for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Deliverance: Stormlord II</i> 1990 video game

Deliverance: Stormlord II is a 1990 platform game developed and published by Hewson Consultants in 1990 for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum as a sequel to the 1989 game Stormlord. Its remake for the Amiga, Atari ST, and Macintosh, titled Deliverance, followed in 1992.

<i>Batman</i> (1989 video game) 1989 video game

Batman is an action video game developed and published by Ocean Software based on the 1989 film of the same name. It was released on 11 September 1989 for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum with Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, MS-DOS and MSX versions following soon after.

<i>Ace</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> (computer video game) 1989 video game

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1991 video game) 1991 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

References

  1. ↑ The cassette version of the Commodore 64 version displays "Loading Crossout" at the beginning of the loading process. In both Amiga and C64 versions, the synthesized voice in the introduction says, "Get ready for Crossout."
  1. ↑ @playziggurat (January 13, 2022). "Rainbow Arts classic X-Out is now part of the Ziggurat catalog!" (Tweet). Retrieved March 7, 2023– via Twitter.
  2. ↑ Romano, Sal (August 1, 2024). "Shoot 'em up remake X-Out: Resurfaced announced for PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  3. ↑ Bielby, Matt (March 1990). "X-Out review". Your Sinclair. No. 51. p. 56.
  4. ↑ Hartley, Gary (December 2020). "X-Out review". HonestGamers.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.