Tempest 4000 Reviews
Tempest 4000 is the final Llamasoft Tempest and an incredibly strong game to go out on.
Even if it feels incomplete, Tempest 4000 is still worth playing. The visuals remain entrancing, the music is as powerful today as when it was released, and the task of clearing baddies from webs continues to be challenging. If you can look past the roughest levels, you'll find this to be a fun and highly memorable game. Here's hoping Llamasoft gives it a little post-release polish so it can become a modern classic, just like Tempest 2000.
Tempest 4000 isn't doing anything new or different - but this is an eminently playable, intuitive arcade reimagining that is well worth sinking some time into.
If you are not a fan of simple arcade games, which it most undoubtedly is, you probably won't find much in Tempest 4000 to win you over. But for those who have any love for the series, and appreciation for the era of the arcade, you absolutely can't go wrong with this one. I prolonged this review longer than necessary because I just wasn't done playing it – and I'm still not. It's a winner.
Unfortunately, there won't be much to keep you blasting through the game once you've had a few longer sessions.
I have spent countless hours playing TxK on Vita and it's one of my favourite games, so I'm disappointed that Tempest 4000 doesn't really add anything new, especially considering the higher price. It's still a great game and hopefully a patch will tone down the overzealous use of effects. This is worth a look if you are bored of cut scenes, collectables, and other frippery that clog up video games and want some serious old school arcade action.
TxK gets the official name tag it's always deserved, but a monstrously high price and a lack of innovation sour the occasion.
It was tragic to see something as great as Tempest fall into obscurity, only to have the spiritual successor taken away before it could really make its mark. As weird and whiplash-y as it is, it's just as great to see the same developer get to make a comeback and do an officially branded sequel. It feels like a dream come true, and I can't imagine how exciting this is for the folks at Llamasoft. Sure, it could have benefited from some more bells and whistles, but Tempest 4000 is the real deal, a new version of a remarkable arcade classic that isn't spoken of nearly as much as it deserves today. It doesn't feel cheap or old; it's pure game design boosted by badass music and a distinct visual style that settles comfortably into high definition. If we continue to get stuff like this from the new Atari, then sign me up.
Tempest 4000 is another Tempest game. If you are OK with that and perhaps need an excuse to retire the Vita version, then this package will be worth it. Otherwise this game feels like a relic that didn't really need the 4K upgrade.
Jeff Minter has been able to renew the classic Tempest formula, which becomes an excellent game even after 38 years. Unfortunately, the PC version has some small but annoying technical problems.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A VR Tempest experience is a logical progression for the game that wouldn't fundamentally change the core nature of the game but it sure would enhance its trippiness.
Look, it's a fun game, filled with flashing lights and so much digital detritus you'll need a shower after one run. But the thing is, you've played this before – not in this form in 4K on this particular format, but Tempest is Tempest and Tempest 4000 doesn't really try to be anything else.
Jeff Minter's latest interpretation of this arcade classic still holds up as one of the best versions of Tempest to date, although the price and lack of changes from TxK both make it a difficult purchase to recommend at $30.
Tempest 4000 is perceptibly held back by a clunky UI, missing two-player modes, and a gimped AI Droid. But it's still recommended, thanks to its superb audio/visual package and "one more time" gameplay. Especially for series fans, getting "in the zone" will ensure this entry has high replay value. Being able to enjoy this in handheld mode on the Switch is a big plus also.
Trippy, harsh, explosive and bizarre. This is everything you would want in a Tempest sequel, provided you want one at all.
Tempest 4000 is a love letter to fans of the original and Tempest 2000 on the Atari Jaguar, for everyone else, the game is a fun but hard to master, arcade-style, synth-heavy romp.
Tempest 4000 is a euphoria induction apparatus designed to simulate the mystique of vector display technology and the ancient magnetism of exotic electricity. It is overwhelming and it is hard as shit and it doesn't care. Tempest 4000's score-chasing energy, in the wild purity of a "video game," feels like a magical retreat.
Tempest 4000 is the greatest version of an arcade classic and is absolutely worth your time. If you’re into old-school games, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. Even if you’re not, 4000 could surprise you. As your dad would say, ‘get some culture in ya’.
Jeff Minter has been behind the game's previous sequels or re releases (Tempest 2000 in '94, Tempest 3000 in 2000) and it is a true rendition of the Tempest I grew up with. However, despite porting it over to the newer operational systems, I don't feel that there was enough of a difference from previous versions to warrant a release at this price point.
Tempest 4000 then, is a great game. But if you want it, you're going to have to part with more cash than you probably expected to.