Z-Tack

Z-Tack is a shoot 'em up for the Atari 2600 from Asia-based developer Onbase Co. and published under its Bomb label in 1983.^[1][2] The player controls an alien ship flying above a city with a goal of destroying bases nestled in the buildings. There are six different city-landscapes. The game received mixed reviews from critics and was described as an inverted version of Imagic's Atlantis.

Z-Tack
Developer(s)	Onbase Co.
Publisher(s)	Bomb
Platform(s)	Atari 2600
Release	UK: 1983 DE: 1983 NA: 1983
Genre(s)	Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player, two-player

Gameplay

The player is presented with an alien UFO-like spacecraft, which is tasked with destroying bases in a cityscape to advance to the next level. The player must avoid missiles, which include heat-seeking-type missiles, as well as flying skulls. There are six different cityscapes.^[3] The game can be played in both single-player and two-player mode.^[4] It is the reverse of the 1982 video game Atlantis, where a city must be defended.^[4]

Reception

Contemporary reviews of Z-Tack were mixed. In 1983, TV Gamer magazine described it as "probably the second-best video game to come from this new company, BOMB, the best being Assault" and "not a world-beating game but well worth having a look".^[3] Videogaming Illustrated gave it good marks for gameplay (B, B+) but marked it down for lack-lustre graphics (C-, D).^[5] German magazine TeleMatch gave it 3/6 overall, describing it as a "relatively inexpensive shooting game" but criticizing its lack of originality.^[6] The Australian magazine Score reviewed the game positively in their 1983 review, praising the "colourful" graphics and sound, though also noting that they were "simplistic".^[7]

Writing in 2018 in The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 1, Kieran Hawken gave the game 7/10, praising particularly the graphics.^[1]