Developer : Atari
Genre : First person shooter
Graphics : Vector graphics
Themes : Military
Release Info : MiSTer implementation
Emulated in : Game Room (2010 360)
Achievements : retroachievements.orgnot completed.
Cool Santa Cruz arcade
FPS, 1980 style
SCORES
Scores - MAME: 28000 ........... on 2020-11-15 Scores - Classic Mode: 20000 ........... on 2016-02-03 Other scores: 13000 ........... on 2025-03-22 Other scores: 9000 ............ on 2022-09-17
Log entries
- This was the first time I put my head into a Battlezone scope and played this game with twin sticks. The arcade in Santa Cruz had some real gems. It felt pretty good, although I still suck at Battlezone.
- I just noticed, the arcade flyer is one of the earliest examples I have seen of the 'reflected horizon font' trope that became so popular in the 80s.
- Got the score 20000 in Classic Mode. I bought this for Game Room a while ago, but didn't have a proper game before tonight. I hadn't realized how much inspiration Backlash takes from Battlezone, right down to the enemy designs.
- Got the score 28000 in MAME. My first serious game of Battlezone, I encountered UFOs and seeker missiles. I realize now where some of the enemies from Novagen's Encounter and Backlash come from.
- Got the score 9000. After going to the Moomin Museum in in Tampere, Finland, we went to the The Finnish Museum of Games that featured a collection of Finnish video games. And to my excitement, they had a small arcade with an excellent collection of classic arcade games. Battlezone was there, and I loved getting another shot at shooting tanks on a desolate vectorized planet. I got a good look at the screen, mounted vertically facing up and the image being projected forward by a diagonally positioned mirror. The resulting image in the small viewport was a bit dim, so it was hard to spot tanks in the distance. I noticed for the first time how the enemy missiles are much brighter than the enemy tanks. Wrestling the joysticks and peering through the viewport is harder than playing an emulated version of the game, so I only got a meagre 9000 point score.
This is on MiSTer now. The vector graphics looks a little bit weird, but the game plays like it should.
- Got the score 13000.
Played at Musée Mechanique in San Francisco. I was README.txt in the high score list.
2013-03-30
2014-10-05
2016-02-03
2020-11-15
40 Years Ago2022-09-17
2023-03-26
2025-03-22
