Tempest 2000 is a 1994 tube shooter video game originally developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar. Part of Atari Corp.'s 2000 series, it is a remake of the 1981 arcade game Tempest.

The Story Behind Tempest X3

However, several homebrew options exist by using parts from a Jaguar controller and either an Atari 2600 Driving Controller or new, higher-precision rotary encoders. The most common criticism with the Jaguar version of Tempest 2000 was the lack of a rotary controller similar to the controller on the Tempest arcade machine. In fact, the game was programmed with an option to use just such a controller, even though Atari never released one.

Though discouraged, Minter continued to work on the game until it was finished and also regarded the Jaguar hardware as easy to develop for. The one used by Jeff Minter during testing was made from a hacked-up 2600 driving controller. The Jaguar version was included as part of the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration compilation for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam, and Xbox One, marking the game's first re-release.

How Tempest X3 Plays

The game features a total of 100 web levels, with new frame colors and variations after every 16 levels completed. In addition, this mode includes an exclusive Mirror power-up, which deflects shots from the rival back at him, alongside other objects to use in the playfield and regular enemies from the main game. Jump lets the player jump off the web to avoid enemy fire and enemies that travel along the edge of the playfield such as the Fuseball and electrified attacks from the Pulsars.

New to Tempest 2000 are power-ups, which appear as capsule-shaped polygon objects after destroying a number of enemies or enemy bullets. Other modes include Traditional Tempest, which is a recreation of the original arcade game; Tempest Plus, which is a mix between Traditional and Tempest 2000 modes and Tempest Duel, a two-player versus mode where players compete in a series of matches against each other. Droid is an autonomous vectorial ship that appears floating above the web and shoots at the enemies.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Also, two unofficial clones of Tempest 2000 named Typhoon 2001 and Cyclone 2000 were launched for PC and Android devices, by Thorsten Kuphaldt and NoCrew Mobile respectively. Turn down the lights, turn up the colour, run the sound through your hi-fi then jam up the bass and the volume and you could enjoy a gaming experience so hypnotic as to be almost mind-altering." He concluded that the Saturn port, though slightly inferior to the Jaguar original, effectively recreated this experience for Saturn owners. Tempest 2000 received general critical acclaim when released for the Jaguar.

The PlayStation version was much less well received. It was cited by Ultra/United Games as an influence during development of Battle-Girl. On 24 August 2008, the source code of Tempest 2000 was released by the defunct Jaguar Sector II website under a CD compilation for PC titled Jaguar Source Code Collection.

Tempest X3 — Frequently Asked Questions