
	Platform Colecovision Genre Flight sim? Developer / Publisher Sega Released 1982
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Zaxxon

Zaxxon has appeared on just about every gaming platform in existence. It’s ¾ perspective and action-packed levels are still influencing game design today. Look at games like Diablo, RedAlert, and Crusader: No Remorse – the ¾ perspective was made popular by Zaxxon.

zaxxon,colecovision

In Zaxxon, you take control of little jet fighter that can spew endless amounts of green lasers, blasting alien invaders, other fighters, and fuel tanks while avoiding homing missiles, flying over walls, and ducking under force fields. Not only can your fighter move laterally, it can go up and down, taking on both air and ground targets! The only two things you’ve got to watch are your "altimeter" and your fuel supply. The altimeter appears on the left side of the screen and gives a good indication how high you are – it’s an invaluable tool since eye-balling it rarely works. While fuel

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consumption is efficient, you still have to watch the fuel level because when you run out, you die. To replenish your fuel you have to blast fuel tanks scattered around the levels.

The levels slowly scroll by from right to left and are broken up by sections of total air-to-air combat. Nowhere does the action stop and a new level load – the scrolling is constant and smooth. (Except for that slight blip after challenging a mini-boss.)

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There aren’t levels in the usual sense – just one continuous challenge. But as you progress everything gets increasingly harder. Stay high off the ground too long and a homing missile gets fired at you. The enemy fighters get faster and appear in greater numbers. Fuel tanks start to appear less frequently. Gradually, you’ll find yourself having to act on instinct because there’s just so much coming at you.

Graphics and control are good – but, as mentioned before, getting the hang of the altimeter an be a slow learning process. Sound is standard for the Colecovision (but the constant engine whine does grow tiresome), but sadly there aren’t any memorable tunes. (You know, the kind you hum in an elevator and a total stranger says, "That’s from Zaxxon, right?) Actually, there’s no music at all.

While it doesn’t hold a candle to today’s games, Zaxxon still influences gaming today, even if developers don’t realize it. Fun for a walk down memory lane.

- Omni