Zaxxon 1982

Is it still worth playing?

A ship flies through two heavily defended space fortresses and the open space between them to face the Zaxxon robot at the end of the second, in this arcade shooter. Sega's game was one of the first to use an isometric view, which gave it its name and simulates three dimensions. The ship flies at a constant speed, and the joystick works like an aircraft's: pushing forward lowers it and pulling back raises it. A shadow and an altimeter show its height, and the walls of each fortress have openings it has to be at the right altitude to pass. Fuel runs down and is refilled only by shooting fuel tanks at ground level. Flying high draws homing missiles, and in space, where there is nothing to cast a shadow on, enemy planes have to be shot before they fire. It was also the first arcade game advertised on television. Judging height from a shadow still makes every wall a test of the eye.