Crossfire (1981 video game)
| Industry | Video game development and publishing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Jay Sullivan |
| Products | Crossfire (video game) |
Crossfire is a multidirectional shooter created by Jay Sullivan for the Apple II and released by On-Line Systems in 1981. The game employs keyboard-based controls reminiscent of a twin-stick shooter, while joystick versions utilize the stick for navigation and firing is triggered by holding down the button.
This title was later adapted for Atari 8-bit computers, VIC-20, Commodore 64, and the IBM PC (distributed as a self-booting disk). Additionally, a cartridge edition was made available with the 1984 launch of the IBM PCjr.
Gameplay
Players pilot a ship through a maze arranged on a grid, maneuvering with the IJKL keys or joystick (joystick-only on Atari and Commodore editions) and shooting in four directions using the ESDF keys. Movement is confined to intersections within the maze, and progression occurs by destroying all adversaries present.
Enemies emerge from sixteen spawn points located along three sides of the playing field. These foes move and fire in four directions but at a slower pace than the player. There are four distinct enemy varieties that differ in appearance and award points ranging from 10 to 80, each possessing unlimited ammunition.
After firing twelve shots, bonus items appear near the center of the screen; if not collected within six additional shots, these bonuses vanish for that round. Securing these items grants point bonuses between 100 and 800.
Players start each level with a limited number of shots—35 initially—which decreases by five with each subsequent level until reaching a minimum of 15. A reload warning activates when only ten shots remain. Only one projectile can be active on screen at any time.
The game begins with three ships, with extra ships granted every time the player scores an additional 5,000 points.
Ports
The Atari 8-bit version was released both as a cartridge and on floppy disk. The cartridge version operates on systems with at least 16K of memory using character mode graphics, whereas the floppy disk edition requires 32K, employs bitmap mode, and closely mirrors the Apple II graphics. The Commodore 64 port includes background music, which is absent from other versions.
Reception
Softline commended Crossfire as "a fresh take on arcade games featuring vivid creatures and fluid animation," providing extensive challenge for committed players. BYTE highlighted it as "one of the toughest and most engaging arcade games ... highly addictive once mastered." Conversely, PC Magazine criticized the overused alien invasion theme, describing the IBM PC version's visuals as "adequate but unremarkable," with controls lacking precision.
In March 1983, the Atari 8-bit release earned a Certificate of Merit in the "Best Arcade/Action Computer Games" category during the 4th annual Arkie Awards. Opinions on other versions were varied: Ahoy! found the VIC-20 edition simplistic with minimal atmosphere, while InfoWorld regarded the IBM PCjr version as "an engrossing way to pass time." The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984 assigned it a B+ grade, deeming it "one of the finest strategy shoot-'em-ups" of its decade.