Xevious

This vertical scrolling shooter video game was developed by Namco and published by Atari and in 1982 it was released.

The player pilots a combat aircraft, which is called a Solvalou. It is armed with a forward-firing "zapper" for aerial target. For ground targets the player can also use a "blaster" which fires an unlimited supply of air-to-surface bombs.

There is a great variety of aerial enemy aircraft that shoot comparatively slow bullets, as well as fast-moving projectiles and black spheres that can explode. On the ground the enemies are stationary bases and moving vehicles. Most of them fire slow bullets as well. The huge floating mother ships may be killed by knocking out their cores.

The game has varied terrain below, there are forests airstrip, bases and some Nazca line-like drawings on the ground. If the player dies, game continues from the set point. And there are no such enemies in the gam,e that will let you progress if you defeat them.

Dan Johnson, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, gives us a tip for getting an extra ship. Shortly after you reach the first set of spinning walls, you'll reach a lake. If you dump bombs into the lake, such as the location shown in the picture above, a flag with an "S" on it will appear. Flying over the flag will tack on a free ship! Good work, Dan!

Dan also gave us a hint for getting past the initial Ando Ageanesis Floating Fortress in Xevious. If you wait until your ship stops moving forward, just before you reach the fortress, hit START to pause. Again hit START to continue the game, but instead of sticking around to fight the fortress, you'll be able to move past. Dan tells us to be careful, though, because it'll still pump out shots at you.

Skillfully maneuver the fighter plane at warp speeds through treacherous air space and gain the strike advantage. Fire the laser-pulse weaponry at Xevious enemy aircraft and equipment.

Another classic arcade licence, especially honed for the 7800. While it may look deceptively like another upward-scrolling shoot-em-up, Xevious adds the feature of being able to bomb land-based sites. This proves vital in later stages for disposing of ground-based cannon fire. Xevious is also a good yardstick, and shows what the 7800 is capable of. While the graphics may be chunky, and colour used to rather poor effect, the game retains its playable speed at all times, and sound is suitably noisy. Like many games in this genre, learning the attack routes of the enemy becomes a vital ingredient in getting to the end of each level, and with that in mind Xevious must rate as one of the 7800's most enjoyable titles.