''Axis Assassin'' is a video game written by John Field for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-mold ...

and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...

in 1983. Ports for the

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE ...

and Commodore 64 were released alongside the Apple II original. The game is similar in concept and visuals to

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

's 1981 ''

Tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...

'' arcade game. Along with '' M.U.L.E.'', '' Hard Hat Mack'', '' Archon: The Light and the Dark'', and ''

Worms? ''Worms?'' is a software toy written by David Maynard for the Atari 8-bit family and ported to the Commodore 64. Published by Electronic Arts in 1983, it was one of initial batch of releases from the company. ''Worms?'' is an interactive versi ...

'', ''Axis Assassin'' was one of the five initial titles from Electronic Arts. Author John Field was included in the two-page "We See Farther" magazine ad from 1983 that positioned EA's game developers as "rock stars." Field also wrote ''The Last Gladiator'' for Electronic Arts, which was published the same year as ''Axis Assassin''.

Gameplay

Reception

Reviewing the Apple II version for ''

Electronic Games An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

'' in 1983, Arnie Katz wrote, "if John Field's ''Axis Assassin'' is a true foretaste of what we can expect from Electronic Arts, then there's no question that computer gaming has gained another first-rate software producer." Katz and cohort Bill Kunkel also discussed the game in the "Arcade Alley" column of ''

Video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

'', stating, "''Axis Assassin''...has only one discernable problem: its name. Despite the obvious and misleading connotations of 'Axis,' this is a semi-abstract target-shoot in the ''

'' genre–not a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

spy adventure." A review in ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' magazine three years after the game's release was less enthusiastic, concluding "...there's nothing really wrong with ''Axis Assassin'', but there's no real reason why anybody should make time to play it."

References

External links

''Axis Assassin''
at Atari Mania * *{{internet archive game, id=a8b_Axis_Assassin_1983_Electronic_Arts_US_a, title=Axis Assassin
Apple II gameplay
at YouTube 1983 video games Electronic Arts games Apple II games Ariolasoft games Atari 8-bit family games Fixed shooters Commodore 64 games Video game clones Single-player video games

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links