The Atari Jaguar was a failure when it came out in 1993. Although the console was a failure, there was one good game that did come out for it and that was a space shooter called Tempest 2000. It was an addictive game that not many people had the chance to play. Over 20 years later and a remake has been made with the oddly named TxK hitting the PS Vita.
Actually the first ever version of Tempest was released for the arcades in 1981, but the Atari Jaguar version is the most recognized iteration. The PS Vita’s TxK has similar gameplay, but it also has updated graphics and a groovy soundtrack to listen to. The game harks me back to the late ’90s when techno music was in style. If you loved the fast type of beats that were present in the Wipeout games, TxK’s soundtrack is also just as awesome.
Unlike other space shooters, TxK and its predecessors have your spaceship stuck on a piece of wire. You can move right to left, but you cannot move up or down. It’s much like a modified version of Space Invaders, although the wire changes shape and the enemies are less linear. Your main goal is to basically keep shooting the enemies that are approaching you because if they reach you, you will lose a life. It’s important to keep shooting everything in sight because you don’t want the enemy to touch you at any point in time.
There are however numerous power ups you can obtain that help you get rid of the enemies faster and more efficiently. One of the most useful techniques you can use is the “Jump” feature. Jumping allows you to temporarily leave the wire frame your ship is stuck on and shoot enemies from a further distance. This becomes really helpful if the enemies (who are like spiders) come to the top and attach themselves onto the wire frame too.
