Tornado Low Level
{{Short description|1984 video game}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Tornado Low Level
| image = Tornado Low Level Spectrum ZX Cover Art.jpg
| caption = ZX Spectrum cover
| developer = Costa Panayi
| publisher = Vortex Software
Ocean Software
| designer = Costa Panayi
| programmer = ZX Spectrum
Costa Panayi
Amstrad CPC
David Aubrey-Jones
Commodore 64
Simon Nicol
| released = 1984: Spectrum, C64
1985: Amstrad
| genre = Multidirectional shooter
| modes = Single-player
| platforms = Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum
}}
Tornado Low Level (also known as T.L.L.) is a multidirectional flight game developed by Costa Panayi and published in 1984 by the company he co-founded, Vortex Software. The game was first released for the ZX Spectrum, and later ported to the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64.
The game has the player control a Panavia Tornado fighter jet, tasked to destroy targets throughout the map. Tornado Low Level received positive reviews for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions by video game critics, both on release and in retrospective reviews. The game was also a commercial success, with the Spectrum version debuting at number three on Personal Computer Games{{'}} top fifty charts. The success of the game led to a sequel titled Cyclone, which featured a similar graphical style and similar play.
Gameplay
The player controls a Panavia Tornado fighter jet and must manoeuvre the plane at low altitude in order to destroy targets on the landscape by flying low over them at high speed, while avoiding pylons, bridges, and other structures. Each target is represented as a small circle. After five targets are destroyed, new targets are placed in more difficult positions, such as on the water.
Before a level begins, the map of the area is shown, with the five targets being highlighted.{{cite magazine|magazine=Your Spectrum|title=TLL Tornado Low Level|last1=Holman|first1=Ross|last2=Nicholls|first2=Dave|pages=43–47|issue=8|date=October 1984|url=https://archive.org/details/your-spectrum-magazine-08/page/n43}} Each level has a time limit, while the Tornado has a limited fuel supply and can only carry ten bombs. Running low on fuel and time causes a warning sound to be triggered. Landing on the airfield refuels the aircraft. The Tornado has two speeds. At high speed, it can travel to targets faster, but it uses fuel at a much greater rate. This is depicted graphically by the plane's wings being swept back. The screen displays a fuel gauge, altimeter, a map of the game, and the time the player has left.
The 3D aspect of the game allows the Tornado to not only move on the x-axis (left/right on screen) and the y-axis (up/down on screen), but also on the z-axis, representing the height of the plane in the sky. This movement is supported graphically by allowing the Tornado to fly underneath bridges, with the plane temporarily disappearing from view as it does so. Telephone lines can also be flown under in the same way. Additionally, when the Tornado flies over a building, its shadow "climbs" up the wall, again giving the illusion of a third dimension.
Development
Tornado Low Level was developed by Costa Panayi and published by the United Kingdom-based company Vortex Software, co-founded by Panayi. Before getting into game development, he was a design engineer for British Aerospace. The idea for the game originated from the popularity of Psion's flight simulator program Flight Simulation. Panayi considered the game to be a "progression of the ideas" he had in his previous title Android Two.{{cite magazine|magazine=Sinclair User|title=Flying Low|last=Bourne|first=Chris|issue=32|pages=138–139|date=November 1984|url=https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-user-magazine-032/SinclairUser_032_Nov_1984#page/n137/}} It was originally released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984.{{cite web|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/02/22/the-flare-path-a-tornado-miscellany/|title=The Flare Path: A Tornado Miscellany|last=Stone|first=Tim|work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun|date=22 February 2019|access-date=27 March 2019|archive-date=26 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326162557/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/02/22/the-flare-path-a-tornado-miscellany/|url-status=live}} Publisher Ocean Software later acquired the rights to the game to release it for the Commodore 64.{{cite magazine|magazine=Computer and Video Games|title=Designer of the Month|page=24|issue=36|date=October 1984|url=https://archive.org/details/ComputerAndVideoGamesIssue036Oct84/page/n23}} An Amstrad CPC version was also released, rewritten to use the full capabilities of the computer. The CPC version was programmed by David Aubrey-Jones.
Reception and legacy
{{Video game reviews
|AAction=90%{{cite magazine|magazine=Amstrad Action|title=Action Test|last=Wade|first=Bob|issue=5|pages=48–49|date=February 1986|url=https://archive.org/details/amstrad-action-005/page/n47}}
|Amtix=85%{{cite magazine|magazine=Amtix|title=Reviews|date=February 1986|issue=4|page=20|url=https://archive.org/details/amtix-magazine-04/page/n19}}
|CRASH=81%{{cite magazine|magazine=Crash|title=Reviews|issue=7|pages=14–15|date=August 1984|url=https://archive.org/details/Crash_No._07_1984-08_Newsfield_GB/page/n13}}
|CVG=9/10{{cite magazine|magazine=Computer and Video Games|url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_034_1984-08_EMAP_Publishing_GB/page/n35|title=Reviews|pages=36, 38|date=August 1984|issue=34}}
|SUser=8/10{{cite magazine|magazine=Sinclair User|title=Low Level High-Flyer|last=Bourne|first=Chris|issue=30|page=37|date=September 1984|url=https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-user-magazine-030/SinclairUser_030_Sep_1984#page/n36}}
| rev1 = Computer Gamer
| rev1Score = 13/20{{cite magazine|magazine=Computer Gamer|title=Reviews|last=Roberts|first=Mike|page=70|issue=11|date=February 1986|url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gamer_Issue11/page/n69}}
}}
Upon release, Tornado Low Level was a commercial success, with the ZX Spectrum version debuting at number three on Personal Computer Games{{'}} top fifty charts.{{cite magazine|magazine=Personal Computer Games|title=PCG Top 50|page=19|issue=10|date=September 1984|url=https://archive.org/stream/PersonalComputerGames05/PersonalComputerGames/PersonalComputerGames10#page/n19/}} Both the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions of the game received positive reviews from video game critics. Computer & Video Games called it the best flight game on the Spectrum. Bob Wade, writing for Amstrad Action, praised the game for its graphics and for having the fastest and smoothest scrolling on the Amstrad computer. A reviewer for Amtix also praised the scrolling, but criticized the graphics for looking "blocky". Crash noted a lack of instructions and indications of how to complete the game's objectives. Retrospective reviews were also positive. Peter Parrish, writing for Eurogamer, called it "gorgeous, absorbing and, despite the subject matter, surprisingly non-violent".{{cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/tornado-low-level-review|title=Tornado: Low Level|last=Parrish|first=Peter|work=Eurogamer|date=24 October 2007|access-date=19 March 2019|archive-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327185402/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/tornado-low-level-review|url-status=live}} Nick Thrope, writing in Retro Gamer, gave it praise for its entertainment value.{{cite web|url=https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/tornado-low-level/|title=Tornado Low Level|last=Thrope|first=Nick|work=Retro Gamer|date=27 April 2016|access-date=19 March 2019|archive-date=19 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419022549/https://www.retrogamer.net/retro_games80/tornado-low-level/|url-status=live}}
Jim Watson of ZX Computing listed it as one of the best games for the ZX Spectrum in 1984.{{cite magazine |last=Watson |first=Jim |title=Great Games of '84' |magazine=ZX Computing |date=December 1984 |pages=153–154 |url=https://archive.org/stream/ZX-computing-1985-12/ZXComputing_Dec-Jan_1985#page/n152/mode/1up}} The game was voted number ten in Your Sinclair{{'}}s "Official Top 100 Games of All Time" list.{{cite magazine|title=Let the People Decide! The Results!|magazine=Your Sinclair|publisher=Dennis Publishing|page=11|issue=93|date=September 1993|url=https://archive.org/stream/your-sinclair-93/YourSinclair_93_Sep_1993#page/n57/mode/2up}} Retro Gamer, meanwhile, ranked it as the eleventh best game for the Spectrum.{{cite magazine|magazine=Retro Gamer|title=Top 25 Best Spectrum Games Of All Time|pages=82–91|issue=48}} In 1987, Wade listed it as one of the best games for the then two-year-old Amstrad CPC.{{cite magazine|magazine=Amstrad Action|title=The All-Time Amstrad Top 20|last=Wade|first=Bob|issue=16|pages=60–61|date=January 1987|url=https://archive.org/details/amstrad-action-016/page/n59}}
With the success of Tornado Low Level, Vortex Software released Cyclone. A sequel to T.L.L., Cyclone has the player fly a helicopter to collect medical supplies in the middle of a cyclone phenomenon.{{cite magazine|magazine=Sinclair User|title=Here comes the chopper!|last=Bourne|first=Chris|date=January 1985|issue=34|page=37|url=https://archive.org/details/sinclair-user-magazine-034/page/n35}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{Internet Archive game|zx_T.L.L._Tornado_Low_Level_1984_Vortex_Software}}
- {{WoS game|id=0005302}}
- {{lemon64 game|name=Tornado Low Level|id=3259}}
Category:Multidirectional shooters
Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Category:Vortex Software games