Xenophobe (video game)
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- For the phobic attitude, see Xenophobia.
| Xenophobe | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of Xenophobe |
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| Developer(s) | Bally Midway |
| Publisher(s) | Bally Midway |
| Designer(s) | Brian Colin & Howard Shere |
| Release date(s) | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Up to 3 players simultaneously |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Lynx, ZX Spectrum Nintendo Entertainment System Bundled with Midway Arcade Treasures 2: Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, PSP Bundled with Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition: PC Windows |
| Input | 8-way joystick, 3 buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright, custom |
| Arcade CPU(s) | 68000 (@ 7.7238 MHz) |
| Arcade sound system(s) | Sound CPU: 68000 (@ 8 MHz) DAC (@ 8 MHz) |
| Arcade display | Raster, 512 x 480 pixels (Horizontal), 64 colors |
Xenophobe is a 1987 arcade game published by Bally Midway. A starbase is infested with aliens, and the player has to kill the aliens before it is completely overrun.
[edit] Description
The Arcade Game can be played by up to 3 players, and the goal of each level is to defeat all the aliens before time runs out. Every level may contain more than one floor, and players will have to use an elevator to move between floors to defeat all of the aliens. Players may also pick up more powerful weapons and other items to help in their eradication of the aliens.
This game was unusual in that it split the single monitor into three separate sections, one for each player. This allowed the players to operate cooperatively, but also allowed the separate players to wander around freely, a feature not found on most cooperative multiplayer games. With most games that allowed multiple players at once, all players were bound by the edges of the screen (that is, all the players had to be in the same general area on the screen, so it could contain them all). Because the game featured such high resolution for its time, the split screen didn't detract from the game's graphic appeal.
There are nine characters to choose from in Xenophobe, three for each joystick. The leftmost controller (red) allows Mr. M.Brace, Dr. Kwack and Col. Poupon. The middle controller (yellow) offers Mr. Fogg, Col F. Truth and Dr. Udderbay. The right controller (blue) offers Mr. Eeez, Dr. Zordiz and Col. Schickn. Humans and aliens alike make up the playable characters -- for instance, Dr. Kwack has a duck's head.
[edit] Ports
Like many games of this era, Xenophobe was ported to many home systems. Beginning in 1988, it was ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Lynx and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Atari ported Xenophobe over to its systems while Sunsoft ported it to the NES. The Commodore 64 port was done by Microplay.
