Battlezone - (1980) Arcade - VGG

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Atari © 1980
[Coin-Op] Arcade Video Game
Emulator: MAME 0.232
Rating: 8/10
There's a lot of things that made this game memorable. First… the sharp vector graphics in a dim arcade always stood out. Then there was the presentation - have to look through a simulated viewer, as if you were inside the tank itself.
The controls were a two-treads on the ground tank… so you control the left tread with the left joystick, and the right tread with the right joystick. A control scheme that once learned is intuitive and really fun. Finally… you have this 3D world modeled in real-time with those vector graphics… and its shoot or be shot down. And just to make things interesting, they put in an active volcano to spiffy up the background… sparking rumors that if you were really good you would be able to drive right up into the volcano... Imagination not being as limited as the technology in those days.
So put all those things together in a 1980 setting, and it was easy to see how Battle Zone was a hit. Played well, was fun… difficulty ramped up, but gave you a fighting chance to familiarize yourself with tank controls. The additional part of the story is the military liked what it saw too and commissioned a more advanced version to train their soldiers. Not sure who ordered it but it ended up with the name Bradley Trainer… I think it should've been Battle Zone of Duty.
Yup, lots to love about these great classic games. The variety, the creativity, the new styles of play… and the complete lack of sanitary concerns with those periscopes that you share forehead grease with hundreds of other people. Doesn't get much better than that.

[@climbingtiger]

I used to run the score up with this game by getting really good at driving backward in curves - the "enemy" apparently couldn't handle countering that maneuver. I think 1980 was about the time I played it, too - still in college.

[@vghchannel]

Nice! Will have to try that out sometime.

[@boxofmoles4057]

Me, too.

[@RetroGamingStories]

This looked so futuristic and unbelievable back in the day. 🙂

[@samanthadrennan]

Hey sharing that forehead grease is part of what toughened us up and made us strong! GenX rules! 🤣

[@vghchannel]

Haha! Truth.

[@lasvegasira]

Hi. Does the MAME rom you're using include the bezel graphic around the edges of the screen? If so, can you provide the name of the rom set you're using? Thanks!

[@vghchannel]

Bezel art is usually totally independent from any romsets. Search for "mame extras" artwork, bezels, etc.

[@noelht1]

Yeah this is what I’m talking about. This was a great game

[@vghchannel]

First-person shooter!!