Z-Tack

Z-Tack is a 1983 space-themed non-scrolling shoot 'em up developed and published by Bomb for the Atari 2600.[1] It was produced by Bomb, a video game label from developer Onbase Co. based out of Asia.[2] Six different citiy-landscapes are included in the game. It received generally positive reviews from critics for its gameplay but also referring to it as a "cheap hack" or "clone" of Atlantis.[3]

Z-Tack
Cover art
Developer(s)Onbase Co.
Publisher(s)Bomb
Platform(s)Atari 2600
Release
Genre(s)Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, two-player

Gameplay

The player is presented with an alien UFO-like spacecraft, which is tasked with reducing a city-scape within which there are certain number of bases that must be reduced to ruins before proceeding to the next level. The player must avoid missiles fired at them, which include heat-seeking-type missiles, as well as flying skulls. Six different city-scapes are included in the game.[4] The game can be played in both single-player and two-player mode.[3] As such it is essentially the reverse of Atlantis, a highly-popular game of the time, where a city must be defended.[3]

Reception

Contemporary reviews of Z-Tack were mixed. In 1983, TV Gamer magazine described it as "probably the second-best video game to come from this new company, BOMB, the best being Assault" and as "[n]ot a world-beating game but well worth having a look".[4] Videogaming Illustrated gave it good marks for gameplay (B,B+) but marked it down for lack-lustre graphics (C-,D).[5] German magazine TeleMatch gave it 3/6 overall, describing it as a "relatively inexpensive shooting game" but criticising its lack of originality.[6]

Writing in 2018 in The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 1, Kieran Hawken gave the game 7/10, praising particularly the graphics.[1]

References
  1. Hawken, Kieren (2018). The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 1. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 978-1785386428. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. "It's Bomb!". Videogaming Illustrated: 38. September 1983. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  3. Weiss, Brett (2011). Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide. McFarland. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-0786487554. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. "Z-Tack: New!" (PDF). TV Gamer: 40. Autumn 1983. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. "Z-Tack". Videogaming Illustrated: 37–38. September 1983. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  6. "Z-Tack Review". TeleMatch: 30–31. August–September 1983. Retrieved 10 August 2019.


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