Tempest 2000
14th Aug 2001 | 23:00
Though the Saturn version of Tempest 2000 hasn't been programmed by The Great Minter himself, it manages to be a fair representation of the Jag game. The player controls a laser-firing claw that spins around the rim of 100 variously-shaped 'tubes'. Crawling up the tubes towards the claw come unfriendly electro-creatures and the idea is simply to eliminate them with some skilled shooting before they reach the end of the tube. Once blasted, certain baddies release power-ups, providing bonus items and weapon upgrades. The first upgrade is the particle laser, which is the same as the standard gun but makes a louder noise. Rechargers revive your Super Zapper smart-bomb, and a jump enabler lets you bounce your claw off the rim of the tube and over any encroaching enemies. The warp tokens are the things you really want to collect, though. Once you have three of these you're transported to one of three cool bonus stages. So while, at first glance, Tempest 2000 looks like an outdated waste of time it does actually have a bit going for it. Its powers of entertainment lie in the frenetic action, the pyrotechnics and the pounding music. A few discrepancies mean this isn't as good as the Jaguar version but it's just as zappy, and almost as trippy.