Page 13 - OSG Presents Classic Gamer Magazine #6

A A literally LEAP to the left, to bring it into view

as soon as possible, and destroy it! Then,
you dance back to the right, trying to oblit-
s a general rule, when I select a
game to spotlight for my "Lost Ar-
cade Classic" articles, I focus on games of the erate another squadron of fighters before
they unleash their deadly cargoes. De-
late 70's or early 80's. Those are the games pressing a thumb button sends heat seek-
from the "golden era" of arcades that we all ing missiles screaming towards the enemy
remember with such fondness. But when I craft. DIRECT HIT! You may have to use
was thinking about what game to cover in this these things more often! Pretty soon, you
war-themed issue, I thought of a game re- find you are breaking a sweat, as this
leased in the mid 80's that I never even got to swivel monitor succeeds in drawing you
play until the early 90's, yet it’s still a justifiable into the action unlike any other conven-
"lost arcade classic." That game is Danger tional game. The panic factor sets in, as
Zone by Cinematronics. your base lies in ruins, and the nuclear mis-
Cinematronics is recognized primarily for siles scream over the mountains...
two important innovations in the arcade field. ARGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!! And with a violent
In 1977, they released Space Wars, the first explosion, your world is no more. Until you
game to use Larry Rosenthal's invention of insert another quarter that is.
vector graphics. Its success would pave the Danger Zone presents the player with a
way for later hits such as Battlezone, Tem- realistic depiction of a situation all too famil-
pest, and Star Wars, which all used vector iar to us survivors of the eighties - the
monitors to produce their memorable visuals. After you see the unthinkable... deadly ICBMs rising over threat of nuclear war. By mastering the game,
several years in the early 80's of mediocre arcade the surface, heading right for you. You aim, and deto- you can destroy the planes and choppers be-
releases, Cinematronics released the first fully ani- nate five of the deadly nuclear weapons before the fore they do much damage to your base. This
mated laserdisc game, Dragon's Lair. Using beauti- rest rain down, and... well, let's just say you won't be allows you to complete multiple attack waves,
ful animation from Don Bluth, an engaging storyline seeing your wife and kids anytime soon. earning bonuses that allow your base to rebuild
and unique game play, Dragon's Lair was the most Okay. So what? Sounds like a version of Missile destroyed sites, much like Missile Command's
successful game of the summer of 1983. However, Command on speed, right? Sort of. But that's not all. bonus cities. Eventually, though, even the best
the market was beginning to crumble for all arcade Consider the cabinet design. player will find himself at the mercy of the un-
game manufacturers, and hit games were becoming Cabinet design? What's that got to do with any- known enemy Russians???Terrorists??? Cor-
few and far between. Danger Zone, released in thing? A lot, my friend, a lot. Cinematronics designed porate middle-management???), unable to
1986, was Cinematronics' third milestone in arcade a machine quite unlike any game in arcades up until prevent the
gaming, yet because of the tepid arcade environ- that point or since. The machine has a very heavy and inevitable.
ment of the time, it went virtually unnoticed. narrow base on which the coin door is mounted. Out I used to play this game religiously at the
The gameplay is a military simulation at its finest. of the center of this base extends a thick tube, upon late Galaxy 1 arcade in LaPlata, MD in the
The player assumes the role of a nameless gunner which the monitor and control panel is mounted. The early 90's. The arcade owner wisely placed a
in charge of defending his desert base from an on- control panel protrudes out from the lower front of the wide berth around this machine, as energetic
slaught of enemy aggressors. You are perched on a monitor and features what appear to be two M.A.C.H. players could find themselves stepping on oth-
hill, looking down on the bunkers, radar dishes, and 3 style flight sticks. Each stick has two front-mounted ers' toes, or slamming into other players if they
missile launch pads that decorate your base. In the thumb-controlled fire buttons, and one traditional trig- were not given room. Danger Zone certainly
distance, a mountain range reflects rays of sun off ger style firing mechanism. At first, the game looks gives you a workout, and could be included in
its craggy surfaces. Suddenly, your radar screen quite out of place. No marquee, no decorative screen an all video games exercise regimen. (along
lights up with bright blips heading straight for you! A glass or side art; it may look rather bland upon first with any game that uses the "Power Pad" on
look to the sky reveals five tiny dark glance. But once you grasp the joy- the 8-bit Nintendo, and the frenetic trackball
spots that quickly enlarge into a squad- sticks… Yep! Those joysticks are sta- rolling necessary to succeed in Atari's arcade
ron of enemy fighters! You fire at the tionary! They don't move themselves... Marble Madness.)
invaders and are successful in turning they move THE WHOLE SCREEN!!! In a Danger Zone must have attracted a loyal
three of the planes into fiery piles of phenomenal work of engineering, the following, because the Leland Corporation re-
wreckage. But the two planes on the good folks at Cinematronics created a leased a sequel in 1988 entitled Viper. Cinema-
edge of the formation escape and arc game where you grip the sticks, and tronics was absorbed by Leland in the mid 80's,
upward, safely out of the reach of your move THE ENTIRE UPPER HALF OF sometime after Danger Zone's release.) Viper
bullets. No time to watch them; in THE CABINET!!! Furthermore, when you featured enhanced graphics, the option to pur-
comes ANOTHER squadron of planes! swing the monitor in any direction, the chase better weaponry, and a seat mounted
And this one is accompanied by a heli- image it displays perfectly follows your several feet away from the swivel monitor. Al-
copter sending missiles down at your movements, giving a true "first person" though I never saw a Viper machine in person,
friends! Quick, turn, aim, and FIRE!!!! perspective as to what it must be like to I can only assume that the seat would have
The copter erupts in a brilliant explo- be that lonely gunner on the hill. Tilting it reduced the energetic "fun factor" of the original
sion, but those fighters are closing in up or down reveals further expanses of concept.
fast! BLAM!!! KAPOW!!! BOOM!!!! KAB- the sky or a better view of your base. I Danger Zone, for obvious reasons, was
LAM!!!! You knock out four of the five imagine a heavy duty spring or perhaps never ported to any home system. It can be
planes, but the escaping fighter suc- something resembling a car’s hydraulics played on your PC as a downloadable ROM for
ceeds in dropping several bombs. You is supporting the monitor inside of the MAME, but it just can't replicate the sensations
pick two of them out of the sky, but the thick "neck tube" that connects it to the of excitement and fear that the swivel monitor
third hits its target, one of your base's base. could invoke. Kudos to Cinematronics on an-
launch pads! Smoldering craters begin When you start a game and the first other excellent game that will now hopefully get
to outnumber the ordinance at your blips show on the radar, it is relatively the respect and recognition it de-
base as the enemies overwhelm you. easy to stay facing front and down all serves
Despite your best efforts, the enemy five attackers with some well placed
soon obliterates the majority of your shots. But when the action speeds up,
installation. Just as you think maybe and you become aware that a helicopter
you should run and save your own skin, is laying waste to your bunkers, you will
Classic Gamer Magazine Spring 2001 13