Triple Action
Encyclopedia
Triple Action is a video game produced by Mattel Electronics
for its Intellivision
video game system in 1981. The game actually includes three separate games—racing, tank combat and flying—where two players compete against each other for the best score.
game and a Pong-style
game, could have prompted a lawsuit from Atari. Prior to release, the game was called 3-in-1 Arcade before being changed to Triple Action.
In "Battle Tanks," players maneuver their tanks around the battlefield, with the first player to shoot their opponent 15 times being declared the winner. The game's options adjust the range of the players' shots and can enable them to ricochet off of obstacles. If ricocheting shots are selected, players may be hit by their own shots, which would score points for the opponent.
"Car Racing" is a race that spans 100 miles (160.9 km), with each player on a separate section of road. Players must dodge traffic in order to reach the finish line before their opponent. Players can adjust the amount of vehicle traffic prior to the start of the race.
The object of "Biplanes" is to shoot down the opponent's plane 15 times. Before the game begins, players can choose between short-range and long-range shots.
and Nintendo GameCube
. In June 2010, Microsoft
re-released the game through the Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s.
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
for its Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
video game system in 1981. The game actually includes three separate games—racing, tank combat and flying—where two players compete against each other for the best score.
History
During the game's development, it was known internally as Some of Theirs, as many of the games proposed for the title were clones of games produced by Mattel's main competitor, Atari. The limited amount of memory available lowered the number of proposed games from six to five. Ultimately, three games remained after an internal review by the company's attorneys determined that two of the games, a Breakout-styleBreakout (video game)
Breakout is an arcade game developed by Atari, Inc and introduced on May 13, 1976. It was conceptualized by Nolan Bushnell and Steve Bristow, and influenced by the 1972 arcade game Pong, also by Atari. The game was ported to video game consoles and upgraded to video games such as Super Breakout...
game and a Pong-style
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
game, could have prompted a lawsuit from Atari. Prior to release, the game was called 3-in-1 Arcade before being changed to Triple Action.
Gameplay
Triple Action contains three separate games: "Battle Tanks," "Car Racing" and "Biplanes." Players choose the desired game from an on-screen menu, then choose from available options for that particular game.In "Battle Tanks," players maneuver their tanks around the battlefield, with the first player to shoot their opponent 15 times being declared the winner. The game's options adjust the range of the players' shots and can enable them to ricochet off of obstacles. If ricocheting shots are selected, players may be hit by their own shots, which would score points for the opponent.
"Car Racing" is a race that spans 100 miles (160.9 km), with each player on a separate section of road. Players must dodge traffic in order to reach the finish line before their opponent. Players can adjust the amount of vehicle traffic prior to the start of the race.
The object of "Biplanes" is to shoot down the opponent's plane 15 times. Before the game begins, players can choose between short-range and long-range shots.
Ports
Triple Action was re-released as part of the Intellivision Lives! compilation game for computers and other video game consoles, like the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
. In June 2010, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
re-released the game through the Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Windows-based
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s.
External links
- Triple Action at IntellivisionLives
- Triple Action at GameFAQs