Published by Developed by Released Platforms |
Genre Perspective Gameplay Interface Vehicular Setting |
Description
Commonly considered the earliest progenitor of first-person shooters (FPS), Battlezone is a 3D tank game initially released in the arcades, and later converted officially to many systems. Earth has been invaded, and you and your tank lead the defensive effort. You drive around the battlefield from a first-person view, targeting and firing at tanks, planes and UFOs. You have a radar to help you see where the enemies are in direction and distance. Objects can be used as strategic cover. Controls simulate the tracks of a tank realistically, so the direction and speed settings are varied - combining forward right and backward left movements (as you can on keyboard versions) sees you change direction more quickly.Screenshots
Promo Images
Part of the Following Groups
- Battlezone series
- Battlezone variants
- BPjS / BPjM indexed games
- Gameplay feature: Dual joysticks
- Gaming Service: Game Room
User Reviews
Relive the first first-person shooter in a surprisingly faithful reproduction of the original arcade game. | PC Booter | Trixter (9115) |
Critic Reviews
The Video Game Critic | Atari 2600 | Feb 13, 2019 | A | 100 |
The Atari Times | Atari 2600 | Nov 02, 2006 | 90 out of 100 | 90 |
Digital Press - Classic Video Games | Atari 2600 | Sep 25, 2004 | 7 out of 10 | 70 |
Retro Archives | Atari 8-bit | Apr 06, 2022 | 11 out of 20 | 55 |
Retro Archives | ZX Spectrum | Apr 06, 2022 | 11 out of 20 | 55 |
Retro Archives | Atari 2600 | Apr 06, 2022 | 10.5 out of 20 | 52 |
The Games Machine (UK) | Atari ST | Sep, 1988 | 51 out of 100 | 51 |
The Good Old Days (Staff Reviews only) | Atari 2600 | Feb 01, 2008 | 3 out of 6 | 50 |
Game Freaks 365 | Atari 2600 | Jan 07, 2009 | 3.8 out of 10 | 38 |
The Video Game Critic | Atari 8-bit | Sep 23, 2007 | F | 0 |
Forums
Topic | # Posts | Last Post |
---|---|---|
The arcade original | 1 | John F Aug 23, 2007 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Battlezone appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony MottArcade version
Development of the original Battlezone coin-op was a team effort: Morgan Hoff was the project leader; Jed Margolin handled electrical engineering; Ed Rotberg programmed it; Roger Hector modelled all 3D objects as minimally as possible, and Howie Delman's vector-graphics generator was used.References to the game
Battlezone units appear in the movies:- Tron (1982)
- Joysticks (1983)
- The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
- Running Scared (1986)
Volcano
Owen Rubin kept pestering Rotberg to make the volcano on the horizon active; Rotberg brushed him off, challenging Rubin to write the code for the volcano himself if he felt so strongly about it# The next morning, there it was sitting on his desk.Awards
- Retro Gamer
- Issue 46 - #20 in the "Top 25 Atari 2600 Games" poll
Related Web Sites
- Battlezone's wikipedia page (You can find all sorts of info about Battlezone here.)
- Kumar's Gaming | Battlezone Review (A detailed review of Battlezone on the Atari 2600 gaming console.)
- The International Arcade Museum (extensive information about the arcade game machine)
Contributed to by Trixter (9115), Alaka (86550), Kabushi (257593), Martin Smith (78698), Pseudo_Intellectual (64350), Servo (57355) and wanax (338)
Arcade Credits (6 people)
Programmed by:
Project leader:
Electrical engineer:
Vector-graphics generator by:
Enemy tank models:
Artwork:
Erupting volcano code by:
Project leader:
Electrical engineer:
Vector-graphics generator by:
Enemy tank models:
Artwork:
Erupting volcano code by: