Assault (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
Assault is a multi-directional shooter arcade game
, released by Namco
in 1988.
Contrary to what most people believe, Assault was the first game to make use of sprite scaling and massive sprite rotation, not Ordyne
, which was released later in the year.
' s main draw was its innovative controls and perspective.
The tank is controlled by two four-way joysticks. The standard movements, such as "forward" and "turn left", are executed in the same manner as with other tank games, such as Battlezone
(i.e. push both joysticks away for "forward", pull the left joystick towards and push the right joystick away for "turn left"). But since the joysticks were four-way, two other moves could be executed. Pushing both joysticks away from one another (i.e. the left to the left and the right to the right) caused the tank to rear up towards its back end for a moment. When in this position, the player could fire a lethal nuclear blast instead of the standard shots when in the normal position. The tank returned to normal driving by pressing the joysticks back together, or by waiting a few seconds. If both joysticks were pushed right or left, the tank would roll (or strafe) to that direction.
Another innovation with this game was the perspective. While the overhead perspective was not new, the game kept the player's tank centered in the screen while the playfield rotated about the player's tank. Presented this way, the tank felt more maneuverable and lifelike.
One additional innovation was the way the tank entered and left the battlefield. The tank was airdropped from above, but instead of the tank falling from the sky, the battlefield appeared to come up towards the tank. When a level was completed, the tank would raise above the surface and then drop through a hatch in the ground. These methods of entering and leaving reinforced the player-tank centric approach of the game.
The player battles 11 waves of enemy forces. After the final level, the player is rewarded with a list of schematics of the player's tank, and a final screen stating "Thanks for your play".
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
, released by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
in 1988.
Contrary to what most people believe, Assault was the first game to make use of sprite scaling and massive sprite rotation, not Ordyne
Ordyne
is a horizontal scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1988 only in Japan. It runs on Namco System 2 hardware, and in 1989 was ported to the TurboGrafx-16. The arcade version was included in Namco Museum Volume 4. The TurboGrafx-16 version was released on the Wii's North...
, which was released later in the year.
Description
In Assault, the player controls a futuristic tank, attacking the surface forces of an alien environment. AssaultThe tank is controlled by two four-way joysticks. The standard movements, such as "forward" and "turn left", are executed in the same manner as with other tank games, such as Battlezone
Battlezone
Battlezone is an arcade game from Atari released in 1980. It displays a wireframe view on a horizontal black and white vector monitor...
(i.e. push both joysticks away for "forward", pull the left joystick towards and push the right joystick away for "turn left"). But since the joysticks were four-way, two other moves could be executed. Pushing both joysticks away from one another (i.e. the left to the left and the right to the right) caused the tank to rear up towards its back end for a moment. When in this position, the player could fire a lethal nuclear blast instead of the standard shots when in the normal position. The tank returned to normal driving by pressing the joysticks back together, or by waiting a few seconds. If both joysticks were pushed right or left, the tank would roll (or strafe) to that direction.
Another innovation with this game was the perspective. While the overhead perspective was not new, the game kept the player's tank centered in the screen while the playfield rotated about the player's tank. Presented this way, the tank felt more maneuverable and lifelike.
One additional innovation was the way the tank entered and left the battlefield. The tank was airdropped from above, but instead of the tank falling from the sky, the battlefield appeared to come up towards the tank. When a level was completed, the tank would raise above the surface and then drop through a hatch in the ground. These methods of entering and leaving reinforced the player-tank centric approach of the game.
The player battles 11 waves of enemy forces. After the final level, the player is rewarded with a list of schematics of the player's tank, and a final screen stating "Thanks for your play".