Xybots

Last updated
Xybots
Xybots arcade flyer.png
Arcade flyer
Developer(s) Atari Games
Publisher(s) Atari Games
Designer(s) Ed Logg
Programmer(s) Ed Logg
Bob Flanagan
Artist(s) Sam Comstock
Mark West
Composer(s) Hal Canon
Brad Fuller
Earl Vickers
Platform(s) Arcade, MSX, Amstrad, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Lynx
ReleaseArcade
  • WW: 1987
Home computers
  • WW: 1989
Atari Lynx
  • WW: 1991
Genre(s) Third-person shooter [1]
Mode(s) Single-player, cooperative

Xybots is a 1987 third-person shooter [1] arcade game by Atari Games. In Xybots, up to two players control "Major Rock Hardy" and "Captain Ace Gunn", who must travel through a 3D maze and fight against a series of robots known as the Xybots whose mission is to destroy all mankind. The game features a split screen display showing the gameplay on the bottom half of the screen and information on player status and the current level on the top half. Designed by Ed Logg, it was originally conceived as a sequel to his previous title, Gauntlet . The game was well received, with reviewers lauding the game's various features, particularly the cooperative multiplayer aspect. Despite this, it was met with limited financial success, which has been attributed to its unique control scheme that involves rotating the joystick to turn the player character.

Contents

Xybots was ported to various personal computers and the Atari Lynx handheld. Versions for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive were announced, but never released. [2] Emulated versions of the arcade game were later released as part of various compilations, starting with Midway Arcade Treasures 2 in 2004.

Gameplay

The gameplay area shows the perspectives of both characters in the lower half of the screen, with the top half being split between the player statuses and level map. ARC Xybots.png
The gameplay area shows the perspectives of both characters in the lower half of the screen, with the top half being split between the player statuses and level map.

One or two players navigate through corridors as either Rock Hardy or Ace Gunn, battling enemy Xybots with a laser gun, seeking cover from enemy fire behind various objects and attempting to reach the level's exit. In certain levels, players face off against a large boss Xybot. Players move using the joystick, which also rotates to turn the player character. The lower half the screen shows the gameplay area for both players while the upper half is split between the map for the current level and the status display for each player. The display shows the player's remaining energy, which can be replenished by collecting energy pods within the levels. Energy can also be purchased at shops between levels, using coins dropped by defeated Xybots. [3] The player can also purchase power-ups at these shops, including extra armor, increased speed, strength and firepower along with maze and enemy maps. [4] [5]

Development

The concept for the game was born out of an attempt by designer Ed Logg and engineer/technician Doug Snyder to create a first-person video game without specialized hardware. In 2005, Logg recalled that he had trouble with the controls for the game—both building controls that worked with the game design and getting players to realize they could rotate the joystick to turn the in-game characters. Because of these difficulties, Logg was unsure if the game would enter mass production. Originally Logg envisioned the game as a second sequel to Gauntlet titled Gauntlet III: Catacombs. However, the marketing department at Atari Games did not want to make another Gauntlet game and made him change the title. Logg and co-programmer Bob Flanagan eventually settled on a theme based on Major Havoc , a previous Atari arcade game. [6]

Reception

Upon release, the game was positively reviewed. It drew favorable comparisons to both Berzerk and Gauntlet for its maze-like stages and shooting gameplay. [5] [9] The game's various features, including the cooperative gameplay, were praised, with Computer and Video Games and The Games Machine citing them as aspects that made the game addictive. [4] [5] Commodore User also cited the two-player game as a highlight, saying "its real appeal is as a team game, with you and your mate running about the place, covering each other, dividing up and destroying all the robots in the maze, and lending one another gold coins in the shop." [3]

Ed Logg recalled in 2005 that the game was not a financial success. GamesTM wrote that "Xybots was overlooked in arcades due to its complex controls and tricky gameplay" and that its lack of earnings in arcades was the reason no sequel was ever developed. In retrospect, they wrote that the game was "ahead of its time" and "offered a unique experience that similar games of the era were unable to match." [6]

Ports

Lynx box art by Marc Ericksen Xybots.jpg
Lynx box art by Marc Ericksen

In 1989 Xybots was ported to MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, and Amiga. In 1991, the Atari Games subsidiary Tengen released a version of the game for the handheld Atari Lynx, developed by the Chicago-based NuFX. [6]

A version for the Sega Genesis by Tengen had been announced at the 1990 Winter Consumer Electronics Show alongside ports of the Atari Games titles Paperboy and Hard Drivin' , [10] but while the latter two games were released for the system, Xybots was not. A planned Nintendo Entertainment System port from Tengen also went unreleased. [11]

Legacy

Having acquired the rights to the Atari Games arcade library through its parent company Williams, [12] Midway released the arcade version of Xybots as part of the 2004 console compilation Midway Arcade Treasures 2 , [13] as well as Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition for Microsoft Windows. [14] The arcade version also saw release on the PSP as part of Midway Arcade Treasures Extended Play . [15]

With the dissolution of Midway in 2009, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment picked up the rights to Midway's arcade titles, [16] releasing Xybots for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as part of Midway Arcade Origins [17] and for various other platforms through the Lego Dimensions Midway Arcade Level Pack. [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>Marble Madness</i> 1984 video game

Marble Madness is an arcade video game designed by Mark Cerny and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide a marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within a time limit. The player controls the marble by using a trackball. Marble Madness is known for using innovative game technologies: it was Atari's first to use the Atari System 1 hardware, the first to be programmed in the C programming language, and one of the first to use true stereo sound.

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

Xenophobe is a video game developed by Bally Midway and released in arcades in 1987. Starbases, moons, ships, and space cities are infested with aliens, and the players have to kill the aliens before each is completely overrun. The screen is split into three horizontally-scrolling windows, one for each of up to three players, yet all players are in the same game world.

<i>Battlezone</i> (1980 video game) 1980 video game

Battlezone is a first-person shooter tank combat game released for arcades in November 1980 by Atari, Inc. The player controls a tank which is attacked by other tanks and missiles. Using a small radar scanner along with the terrain window, the player can locate enemies and obstacles around them in the barren landscape. Its innovative use of 3D graphics made it a huge hit, with approximately 15,000 cabinets sold.

<i>Ms. Pac-Man</i> 1982 maze video game

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1982 maze arcade video game developed by General Computer Corporation and published by Midway. It is the first sequel to Pac-Man (1980) and the first entry in the series to not be made by Namco. Controlling the title character, Pac-Man's wife, the player is tasked with eating all of the pellets in an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating the larger "power pellets" lets the player eat the ghosts, who turn blue and flee.

<i>Rampart</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Rampart is a 1990 video game released by Atari Games and Midway Games that combines the shoot 'em up, strategy, and puzzle genres. It debuted as an arcade game with trackball controls, and was ported to home systems. It had a limited US release in October 1990, and a wide release in early 1991. It was distributed in Japan by Namco.

<i>Gauntlet II</i> 1986 arcade video game

Gauntlet II is a 1986 arcade game produced by Atari Games that serves as the immediate sequel to the original Gauntlet, which was released the previous year. Like its predecessor, Gauntlet II is a fantasy-themed top down dungeon crawler game and was released as a dedicated cabinet, as well as a conversion kit, both available in 2-player and 4-player versions.

<i>Gorf</i> 1981 video game

Gorf is an arcade video game released in 1981 by Midway Manufacturing, whose name was advertised as an acronym for "Galactic Orbiting Robot Force". It is a fixed shooter with five distinct levels, the first of which is based on Space Invaders and another on Galaxian. The game makes heavy use of synthesized speech for the Gorfian robot which taunts the player, powered by the Votrax speech chip. Gorf allows the player to buy two additional lives per quarter before starting the game, for a maximum of seven lives.

<i>Robotron: 2084</i> 1982 video game

Robotron: 2084 is a multidirectional shooter developed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar of Vid Kidz and released in arcades by Williams Electronics in 1982. The game is set in the year 2084 in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible.

<i>Klax</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Klax is a puzzle video game released in arcades in 1990 by Atari Games while Namco distributed the game in Japanese markets. It was designed and animated by Mark Stephen Pierce with the software engineering done by Dave Akers. The object is to catch colored blocks tumbling down a machine and arrange them in colored rows and patterns to make them disappear. Klax was originally published as a coin-op follow-up to Tetris, about which Atari Games was in a legal dispute at the time.

<i>Gauntlet</i> (1985 video game) 1985 arcade game by Atari Games

Gauntlet is a 1985 fantasy-themed hack-and-slash arcade game developed and released by Atari Games. It is noted as being one of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl arcade games. The core design of Gauntlet comes from 1983 Atari 8-bit dungeon crawl game Dandy, which resulted in a threat of legal action. It also bears striking similarities to the action-adventure maze game Time Bandit (1983).

<i>Super Sprint</i> 1986 video game

Super Sprint is a racing video game released by Atari Games and Midway Games in 1986. Up to three players drive Formula One-like cars on a circuit that is viewed from above. The game is a successor to Gran Trak 10 and the Sprint series, which were black-and-white games from the 1970s. A sequel, Championship Sprint, was released later in the same year.

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

Paperboy is an arcade action game developed and published by Atari Games, and released in 1985. The player takes the role of a paperboy who delivers a fictional newspaper called The Daily Sun along a street on his bicycle. The arcade version of the game featured bike handlebars as the controller.

<i>Tetris</i> (Atari Games) 1988 video game

Tetris is a puzzle game developed by Atari Games and originally released for arcades in 1988. Based on Alexey Pajitnov's Tetris, Atari Games' version features the same gameplay as the computer editions of the game, as players must stack differently shaped falling blocks to form and eliminate horizontal lines from the playing field. The game features several difficulty levels and two-player simultaneous play.

<i>Pit-Fighter</i> 1990 video game

Pit-Fighter is a fighting game developed by Atari Games and released as an arcade video game in 1990. It was Atari's first fighting game. The Japanese release was published by Konami. Home versions were published by Tengen.

<i>Gauntlet: The Third Encounter</i> 1990 video game

Gauntlet: The Third Encounter is an arcade-style dungeon crawler role-playing game developed by Epyx and published by Atari that was released for the Atari Lynx handheld system in 1990. Despite using the same packaging artwork that was used for the NES version, The Third Encounter is not a port of the original Gauntlet or its sequel, but instead is a new game developed specifically for the Lynx. It was originally titled Time Quests and Treasure Chests, but it was changed when Atari picked up the license for the Gauntlet franchise from Atari Games.

<i>S.T.U.N. Runner</i> 1989 video game

S.T.U.N. Runner is 3D racing/shooter game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1989. The player pilots a futuristic vehicle which can exceed 900 mph, through various tunnels and courses with changing environments, hazards and enemies. S.T.U.N. Runner uses polygonal graphics for the vehicles and track, and is based on an evolution of Atari's Hard Drivin' hardware. The custom cabinet was designed to resemble the craft that the player pilots in-game.

<i>Pac-Mania</i> 1987 video game

Pac-Mania is a cavalier perspective maze game that was developed and released by Namco for arcades in 1987. In the game, the player controls Pac-Man as he must eat all of the dots while avoiding the colored ghosts that chase him in the maze. Eating large flashing "Power Pellets" will allow Pac-Man to eat the ghosts for bonus points, which lasts for a short period of time. A new feature to this game allows Pac-Man to jump over the ghosts to evade capture. It is the ninth title in the Pac-Man video game series and was the last one developed for arcades up until the release of Pac-Man Arrangement in 1996. Development was directed by Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani. It was licensed to Atari Games for release in North America.

<i>Dandy</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Dandy is a dungeon crawl maze game for Atari 8-bit computers published by the Atari Program Exchange in 1983. It is one of the first video games with four-player, simultaneous cooperative play. Players equipped with bows and unlimited arrows fight through a maze containing monsters, monster spawners, keys, locked doors, food, and bombs in search of the exit leading to the next level. If a player dies, they can be revived by finding and shooting a heart. The game includes an editor for making new dungeons.

<i>Vindicators</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Vindicators is an arcade video game released by Atari Games in 1988. One or two players each control a tank in a multidirectional scrolling level. Home ports were by Tengen. Vindicators was not licensed by Nintendo and used an alternate chip to defeat the 10NES lockout system. Ports were planned for the Atari Lynx and Apple IIGS, with the latter even completed, but both were cancelled. Vindicators was followed by the lesser known arcade sequel, Vindicators Part II.

<i>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom</i> (1985 video game) 1985 video game

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is an action video game developed and published by Atari Games and released in arcades in 1985. It is based on the 1984 film of the same name, the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise. It is the first Atari System 1 arcade game to include digitized speech, including voice clips of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Amrish Puri as Mola Ram, as well as John Williams's music from the film.

References

  1. 1 2 "Xybots". AllGame . Archived from the original on 2014-01-01.
  2. ↑ Harris, Steve (April 1990). "Outpost: Genesis - Genesis Games Getting Even Better!". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 9. Sendai Publishing. pp. 73–77.
  3. 1 2 Kelly, Nick (February 1988). "Xybots". Commodore User. pp. 108–109.
  4. 1 2 "Xybots". Computer+Video Games. February 1988. pp. 122–123.
  5. 1 2 3 "Xybots". The Games Machine. February 1988. pp. 69–70.
  6. 1 2 3 "Behind the Scenes: Xybot". GamesTM. No. 39. Future Publishing. pp. 152–555.
  7. ↑ "Domark prove two's company when you're robot-killing". ACE Magazine. August 1989. p. 69. Retrieved 10 August 2018– via archive.org.
  8. ↑ Game review, Your Sinclair issue 71, November 1991, Dennis Publishing, page 65
  9. ↑ "Xybots". Crash. May 1988. pp. 34–35.
  10. ↑ Harris, Steve (April 1990). "Outpost: Genesis". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Sendai. p. 73.
  11. ↑ "Xybots [NES – Unreleased]". Unseen64. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "Time Warner to Quit Game Business". Next Generation . No. 21. Imagine Media. September 1996. p. 15.
  13. ↑ "Midway Arcade Treasures 2 Review". GameSpot.com. 2004-10-11. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  14. ↑ "Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition - PC - Review". GameZone. May 4, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Midway Arcade Treasures Extended Play Review". GameSpot.com. 2005-12-01. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  16. ↑ Dunca, Geoff. "Time Warner Buying Most of Midway Games for $33 Mln". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  17. ↑ "Midway Arcade Origins review". IGN. November 14, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  18. ↑ Crecente, Brian (March 24, 2016). "Lego Dimensions Delivers a Playable Video Game Museum with Midway Arcade". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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.