Atari 8-bit: Encounter

You've stumbled upon an ancient but technically sophisticated training enclave that has stood dormant for centuries. Once used to hone the battle skills of great space warriors, it has, upon your arrival, been reactivated. You must prove your mettle by completing the deadly training course - if you fail, you won't get another chance (unless you restart the game)!

Driving a tank-like vehicle, you maneuver about a pillar-strewn battlefield. Your adversaries in Encounter are of two types. Flying saucers move at random over the field, firing at you from any range. Drones, low-flying missiles that can home in on your position, are the second type of enemy you encounter. While you can, in theory, evade a saucer almost indefinitely (although this is not advisable!), you must destroy a drone immediately to avoid being destroyed yourself.

Once you've rid a level of enemies, a dimensional gate appears as a square black hole on the battlefield. Enter, and you'll find yourself rushing headlonginto a breathtaking, multicolored meteor shower. If you pass through this stage without striking a meteor, you emerge into the next level. There are eight levels in all. Each new level introduces a different landscape, and adds to your enemies' repertoire of nasty tricks.

Encounter's use of graphics and sound is superlative. Your point of view is that from your tank's front windshield, and the illusion of a three-dimensional landscape is made most convincing by the use of the pillars. The color combinations used in the different levels are pleasing to the eye.

Encounter is one of the most challenging and exciting computer arcade games yet to have appeared in 1984.