''Trax'' is a 1991 shooter

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

HAL Laboratory formerly shortened as HALKEN, is a Japanese video game developer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded on February 21, 1980 by Mitsuhiro Ikeda. The company started out developing games for home computers of the era, but has since establishe ...

for the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

. Electro Brain published the game while being re-released outside Japan.

Gameplay

''Trax'' is a

shooter game Shooter video games, or shooters, are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is on the defeat of the character's enemies using ranged weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range weapons, a ...

.''Trax'' instruction booklet (Game Boy, US) The player controls a tank with a cannon that can be rotated to any one of the cardinal directions. Correspondingly, where traditional shooters consist of either horizontal or vertical levels, Trax mixes the two within the same level.

Development and release

''Trax'' was developed by

Reception

''Trax'' garnered average reception from critics. ''

Joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...

''s Jean-Marc Demoly said it was a dynamic game that deviates a bit from traditional

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...

s, and highlighted its graphical presentation. ''

Aktueller Software Markt ''Aktueller Software Markt'' (literally ''Current Software Market''), commonly known by its acronym, ''ASM'', was a German multi-platform Video game journalism, video game magazine that was published by Tronic-Verlag from 1986 until 1995. It was ...

''s Sandra Alter found the game easy to control, but noted that it slowed down when too many enemies appeared on the screen. ''Play Time''s Christian Müller commended the game's audiovisual department, precise controls, and good handling. Jacques Harbonn of ''Consoles +'' gave the game positive remarks for its humorous introductory sequence, its varied range of weapons, playability and multiplayer mode, but saw the drab visuals and unexceptional soundscape as weak points. ''Player One''s Olivier Scamps celebrated the game's production value and multiplayer, but noted the occasional slowdowns and considered its low difficulty a major flaw. ''Joypad''s Olivier Prézeau found the game's four-player mode appealing, and commended its originality, humorous situations, sprite animations and visuals, but noticed the occasional slowdown. ''Video Games'' Stephan Englhart opined that the game's enemies, landscapes, and weapons were not designed with much imagination. Englhart criticized the game's lack of variety and low difficulty, but highlighted its four-player mode. '' Nintendo Magazine System'' (''Official Nintendo Magazine'') rated ''Trax'' as a "Snooze-inducing driving-type game which lacks the pace and excitement to get the adrenalin flowing". Steve Jarratt of ''

Total! ''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 ...

'' commended the game's frenetic action, but lamented its short length. ''Super Gamer'' labelled it as a strange but repetitive multi-directional shooter.

Notes

References

External links

''Trax''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Trax''
at

Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trax (video game) 1991 video games Electro Brain games Game Boy games Game Boy-only games HAL Laboratory games Multiplayer and single-player video games Run and gun games Tank simulation video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Hirohiko Takayama