Flak (video game)
{{short description|1984 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Flak
| image = Flak_(video_game)_Cover_Art.jpg
| caption =
| released = 1984
| designer = Alain Marsily
| programmer = Atari 8-bit
Yves Lempereur
Apple II
Benoit Schillings
Commodore 64
Yves Lempereur
Troy Lyndon
| composer =
| publisher = Funsoft, Inc.
U.S. Gold
| developer =
| platforms = Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
| genre = Scrolling shooter
}}
Flak: The Ultimate Flight Experience is a vertically scrolling shooter for the Atari 8-bit computers designed by Alain Marsily, programmed by Yves Lempereur, and published by Funsoft in 1984.{{cite web |title=Flak |url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-flak_1999.html |website=Atari Mania}} It was ported to the Apple II, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum home computers. Flak was heavily inspired by the 1982 Namco arcade video game Xevious. Most reviews were middling or harshly negative.
Gameplay
The player flies a ship over a vertically scrolling landscape, firing on land bases, on the way to destroy a fortress containing an enemy CPU.
Reception
The game received mixed to poor reviews. In ANALOG Computing, Steve Panak called Flak "the worst mistake your wallet ever made" and advised readers to "avoid it like radioactive waste",{{cite magazine|date=November 1984 |title=A Software Cornucopia |last1=Panak |first1=Steve |url=https://archive.org/details/analog-computing-magazine-24/page/n31/mode/2up?view=theater|magazine=ANALOG Computing |issue=24 |pages=30–31}} while Electronic Games called it "a challenging game that requires some almost impossibly fine maneuvering".{{cite magazine|last=Kohl|first=Louise|date=February 1985|title=Flak|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Games_Volume_03_Number_02_1985-02_Reese_Communications_US/page/n31/mode/2up?view=theater|magazine=Electronic Games|pages=33–34}} Your Spectrum called the game a rip-off of Xevious and gave a score of 0.8/5.{{Cite magazine|date=July 1985 |title=Flak |url=https://archive.org/details/your-spectrum-magazine-16/page/n43/mode/2up?view=theater|magazine=Your Spectrum |issue=16 |page=42 |access-date=2021-03-14}}
Commodore User was more lenient, giving the game a 3/5 in "value for money" and praising the presentation, though complaining about excessive difficulty, disappointing sound, and long load times.{{Cite magazine|date=November 1984|title=Flak|url=https://archive.org/details/Commodore_User_Magazine_Issue_014/page/50/mode/2up?view=theater|magazine=Commodore User|volume=2|issue=2|page=50|access-date=2021-03-14}} Writing for TV Gamer, J.P. Thompson praised the Commodore 64 version's "ultra-smooth scrolling" and called it "a truly addictive game". The review, which gave it a 3.5/5, cited the game's difficulty as something that would have players "staying up most of the night attempting to reach [its] penultimate phase".{{Cite magazine|last=Thompson|first=J.P.|date=November 1984|title=Flak|url=https://archive.org/details/TV_Gamer_1984-11_Boytonbrook_GB/page/n41/mode/2up?view=theater|magazine=TV Gamer|page=43|access-date=2021-03-14}} Contrary to other contemporary reviews, Personal Computer Games remarked that the Atari 8-bit version is "too easy" and therefore "lacks any truly addictive qualities", giving it a 6/10.{{Cite magazine|last=T.T.|date=September 1984|title=Flak|url=https://archive.org/details/Personal_Computer_Games_Issue10/page/n37/mode/2up?view=theater|magazine=Personal Computer Games|page=37|access-date=2021-03-14}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://gb64.com/game.php?id=2792&d=18&h=0 Flak] at Gamebase 64
- {{lemon64 game|id=4157}}
- [https://archive.org/details/Computer_Games_Vol_3_No_4_1984-12_Carnegie_Publications_US/page/n47/mode/2up?view=theater Advertisement] in the November 1984 issue of Computer Games
Category:Atari 8-bit computer games
Category:Vertically scrolling shooters