The myth of an Atari 5200 version of Atari’s classic “Tempest” coin-op had long been debunked, when an uncompleted prototype of the game surfaced way back in 1999. The unfinished game was eventually dumped and made available online. It’s been 14 years since that discovery, and the original programmer, Keithen Hayenga, decided that he wanted to finish what was started. The long anticipated game is not only complete, but now available for purchase in a limited edition via AtariAge!

All you have to do is go to the “About Us” section, and you’ll know that Tempest is one of my all-time favorite games. I’ve been a fan of the game for YEARS. In fact, whenever I get a chance to visit Funspot in New Hampshire, the bet with my friends is whether or not I will break the arcade cabinet from overuse, which has happened on more than one occasion. (And when the time comes, there is a space in my house just waiting for an original coin-op!) Over the years I’ve purchased Tempest on various consoles, including the Game Room on Xbox Live, and the console versions of “Tempest 2000” for the Atari Jaguar and Sega Saturn. But this is truly something not to miss.

The objective of Tempest is to survive as long as possible by clearing the screen of enemies that land on the playing field. The game takes place in a closed tube or open field which is viewed from one end and is divided into a dozen or more segments. The player controls a spaceship that crawls along the near edge of the play field, moving from segment to segment. This ship can rapid-fire shots down the tube, destroying any enemies within the same segment that are approaching you, and is also equipped with a “Superzapper”, which destroys all enemies currently on the play field. When all of the enemies in a level have been destroyed or reach the end of the playfield, the player “warps” to the next level by traveling down the playfield. The player must avoid or shoot any spikes left behind while warping. The arcade version of the game was published in October of 1981, and the Atari 5200 prototype was created in 1983.

According to Atari Protos, the game has a nice, long history:

“Considered to be one of the holy grails of 5200 prototypes, Tempest was seen in the 1984 movie ‘Cloak & Dagger’ as a box on a shelf in the computer store. Boxes were also shown for other unreleased 5200 games such as Battlezone and (naturally) Cloak & Dagger, teasing Atari fans with games that would never be. It wasn’t until 1998 that Tempest finally surfaced as a 50% complete prototype thanks to ex-Atari employee Dan Kramer (inventor of the 5200 trak ball), who had managed to grab a copy before leaving Atari. Unfortunately for fans of the games, one of the things missing from the prototype was collision detection which made the game virtually unplayable (although the deactivated code for collision detection was present in the rom). Also missing from this version were most of the enemies (only Flippers are present), and the Super Zapper. Still, 5200 fans rejoiced as one of the holy grails had finally been found albeit in an incomplete form.”

Now, with the game fully finished by the original programmer, you can now finally, after thirty years, get a copy for yourself, thanks to AtariAge. When you purchase the 32k cartridge, you will get the cartridge itself, complete with a glossy label, a full-color 12 page glossy manual, a professionally offset printed game box using chipboard paper stock, as well as a cartridge insert to keep the cartridge in place. These complete copies of the game are however limited to only 250 copies, in which after that the game will only be sold without the box and just in a “cart and manual” format. So if you yearn for a complete boxed copy of the game, don’t wait too long! The cost of the game, complete with box and manual, is $50 plus shipping.

Note that AtariAge was having some problems with the manual, and wanted to bring it to everyone’s attention:

“We’ve decided to have the manual for Tempest 5200 reprinted to fix two problems with the initial print run. We expect to have the manuals in-hand on or around February 15th. You can order Tempest now and it will ship as soon as we’ve received the manuals (games have been built and are ready to ship!) If you add other items to the same order, they will also ship at the same time.”

Order Link: http://www.atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1014

Atari Protos Tempest History: http://www.atariprotos.com/5200/software/tempest/tempest.htm

Video of uncompleted prototype:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XymM_BpkAGI]