Tempest 4000, Sequel to Atari Arcade Classic, Coming This Summer

Atari is rebooting their classic arcade videogame Tempest—one of the first videogames to use 3D vector graphics—with the soon-to-be-released Tempest 4000. Designed by famous game designer Jeff Minter and developed by Llamasoft, Tempest 4000 remains faithful to the fast-paced gameplay of the original while adding many new features and visually impressive graphics. Minter said in a statement, “We wanted to bring the classic arcade experience into players’ homes, so both franchise legacy fans and new gamers can test their mettle” when describing why he and his team set out to make a new Tempest game.

Like the original game, players control the Claw, a powerful spacecraft made to destroy deadly enemies with rapid-fire shots on color-rich geometric prisms. Tempest 4000 has three game modes and 100 levels for players to conquer. In order to do so, the player must eliminate all enemies as quickly as possible in order to survive, get the highest score and climb the leaderboards ladder. Each of the three game modes has its own dedicated worldwide leaderboard on which players can duke it out for the coveted number one spot.

The three different game modes are Classic, Pure and Survival—each mode will test players’ reflexes in fast-paced, arcade-style “shoot ‘em up” situations. The Classic mode sees the player, equipped with three lives, take on hordes of enemies until those lives run out. Players can continue their next play-through from their last completed stage with their previous high score. Pure is, more or less, the classic arcade mode in that players start from the beginning of the game with three lives with the intent to progress as far as possible until all three lives are spent. Survival mode is meant to be the most challenging, as the player is given eight lives and tasked with surviving as long as possible. As players progress through the 100 unique levels, they level up, and new weapons and power-ups become available to be equipped—the upgrades are earned through bonus rounds. The old-school gameplay and retro techno soundtrack paired with the sleek new visuals gives Tempest 4000 a foundation of nostalgia with a look towards the future of arcade shooters.

Tempest 4000 will be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on July 17 at both digital stores and physical retail outlets. Check out the brand new trailer for Tempest 4000 below.