DESCRIPTION

Inspired by the Atari-licensed Namco arcade classic, Xevious straps players down into the pilot's seat of a sleek Solvalou Fighter, blasting through endless waves of attacking Toroids, tanks and other threats, avoiding indestructible mirrors, and zooming toward a fateful meeting with an enormous boss ship. Left unreleased during the heyday of the Atari VCS, Xevious is a very good attempt at porting the coin-op genre-setter to the most prolific of Atari's consoles (an excellent Atari 7800 version did make it to the store shelves). Due to the single fire button, this version of Xevious drops bombs and fires lasers simultaneously, unlike the arcade game which had separate buttons for each weapon. Programmed by Tod Frye (who also brought Pac-Man home to the Atari VCS), Xevious takes its best shot at copying the arcade game's scrolling vistas of forests, water, and mysteriously-etched sand patterns. The ships and obstacles are a bit blocky and vague, but the game still plays like the original. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide