Tempest 4000 Reviews
Unfortunately, there won't be much to keep you blasting through the game once you've had a few longer sessions.
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.
Trippy, harsh, explosive and bizarre. This is everything you would want in a Tempest sequel, provided you want one at all.
Tempest 4000 brings back all those awesome memories from arcades. Its presentation, visuals and soundtrack are still great. But the game is too similar to TxK and it is a bit pricey.
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The music is really catchy and features a lot of techno songs that change about every eight or nine levels. If you press triangle at the main menu you can actually toggle between three versions of the OST, some including music from Tempest 2000. Other than that, there really isn’t much else to say about Tempest 4000. There is a lot of fun to be had with the game, however your mileage will vary on how much you like playing this kind of game. If you are the type to play it through over and over again to achieve that high score or compete in online leaderboards, this game is more than worth it and you can add half a star to the score. For everyone else however, the $30 price tag may seem a bit steep considering the relatively low amount of content.
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.
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.
Tempest 4000's time-tested gameplay still rings true, but some of the visual and design elements in this release add some unintended challenge. For what is ultimately an updated quarter-muncher, it has a steep price, but those looking to relive the past in 4K could do far worse than this title.