Xenon (computer game)
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Xenon is a 1988 scrolling shooter computer game. It was developed and published by Bitmap Brothers.
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[edit] Description
The player pilots a ship over an enormous enemy construction. Perhaps it is an enemy spaceship or an enemy installation, such as a fort. No description is given, so it is up to the player to decide which. Unlike most scrolling shooters, the player can move in any direction instead of straight up.
The game has almost no plot except to destroy as many enemy targets as possible. Your craft has two modes, a flying plane and a ground tank. The transition between crafts can be initiated at almost any time during play (except during the mid and end of level boss sections) and the mode chosen depends on the nature of the threat you face.
Destroying some enemies released powerups the player could catch to enhance their ship.
[edit] Level Descriptions
Note that these descriptions are based on the Atart ST port.
Level 1
This level like those above it is split into 2 halves each with an end of level boss. The vertically scrolling light blue coloured tiled landscape is littered with floor mounted or elevated gun turrets. These dome shaped gun turrets, some concealed between 2 sliding silo doors, open up when approached and begin shooting ball shaped homing projectiles in the crafts direction. To destroy ground based turrets your craft has to be in tank mode & to destroy elevated gun turrets your craft has to be in plane mode.
Some gun turrets are visibly destroyed with the first shot. Others can be shot once, after which the silo doors will close, then reopen and reveal a second gun turret that can be permanently destroyed with another shot.
At various points ground based groups of metallic bug like objects and air based formations of crafts are encountered and dealt with according to the current state of your ship and immediate threat.
The mid and end of level bosses are large round objects that move in a repeating pattern and deliver sustained strings of the same ball shaped projectiles. If you collide with the projectiles or the boss itself, which you must take measures to avoid, then this will rapidly drain your energy resulting in the loss of a life.
The boss has a pulsating coloured center which pulsates faster as you near the point of destroying it.
The second half of level 1 requires you craft to be in the plane mode for most of the time as you fly over more tightly populated groups of gun turrets, culminating in the end of level boss. Similar to the first, although its repeating pattern of movement requires you to perform more complicated avoidance moves.
Level 2
Following a similar theme to level 1, this level with a green relief floor surface is also split into 2 halves each with a boss and for almost all of this level you are forced to remain in the air based plane.
The gun turrets of the first level are replaced with guns mounted in and around the side of the landscape. There is a much larger number of ground based waves of ships and enemies most with a different visual style, group arrangements and movement patterns. As well as ball shaped projectiles you also encounter longer laser like projectiles.
Level 3
Level three has the same landscape and gun turrets found on level 1 except the floor is a pink colour. The arrangements of the gun turrets is also more complex and ground based bugs can approach your ship from behind as well as from in front and sometimes in both directions simultaneously.
This level necessitates much more strategic play and more frequent interchange between plane and tank mode in order to destroy the gun turrets and bugs.
The mid level boss is a large black beetle like object that delivers the ball shaped projectiles mentioned earlier. Periodically it delivers a burst of projectiles in 8 directions simultaneously.
[edit] Ports
Originally released for the Amiga, Xenon was quickly ported to other platforms. In 1988, it was ported to Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, MSX and ZX Spectrum.
[edit] Sequel
Xenon was followed in 1989 by Xenon 2: Megablast. It was similar to the original, with some refinements and differences in gameplay.
