X-Out

GAME » on 1990

Amiga (Platform)Amstrad CPC (Platform)Atari ST (Platform)Commodore 64 (Platform)ZX Spectrum (Platform)

A horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up with eight levels and an underwater setting.

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Overview

X-Out is a classical horizontal scrolling 2D shoot 'em up that was developed and published in 1990 by Rainbow Arts for the Amiga, Atari ST and C64. The ports for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions were done by Arc Developments (Company). The game was re-released for several platforms in later years at a budget price by various companies like Kixx (Company), Top Shots (Company) and EDOS (Company).

It is based on the Irem coin-op games Dragon Breed (Game) and X Multiply (Game) (the sequel to R-Type) which were in 1989 two of the best shoot'em ups in the arcade halls. At the time Irem was considered to be the head of the shoot 'em up development and these two games came, apart from larger screens and superior graphics, with a far more sophisticated use of power ups. Also the game design, where the flight paths of the enemies have to be carefully analysed and huge enemies need to be destroyed piece by piece, contributed significantly to the success of these games.

Multi-segemted serpent (Amstrad CPC)

With X-Out Rainbow Arts tried to convert all these Irem style hallmarks to the technically limited 8-bit and 16-bit home computers of which the Amiga version has become the qualitatively best one. Apart from the overall feel of an Irem style game X-Out has plenty of original ideas of its own, like the four different ships that can be armed in the shop with twenty six different weapons. Some features were however copied directly from the Irem games like the flying, multi-segmented serpent, with an alien on his back, taken from Dragon Breed (Game) or the rotating balls and multiplying worms which also appear in R-Type.

Story

Grainger starts his ship (C64)

In the year of 2019 it comes to the first contact with extra-terrestial life. But the aliens don't come from outer space as expected they materialize in the deepest deep sea. Also, they are not friendly minded and gradually destroy the planet surface. The guys "in charge" at the United Nations come, after some squabbling, to the conclusion that the aliens must be driven out or wiped out from the bottom of the sea.

Spies were able to steal plans and material from the aliens so that all of the alien weapon systems are now available to mankind too. Up next an experienced pilot has to be found to take up the fight in the deep sea. At this point the old Grainger (Character), an unemployed submarine veteran with an alcohol problem, joins the game. The only man with admittedly incredible abilities as a pilot and the only one who is so broke, so stupid and still so drunken to accept this job.

Gameplay

The game consists of 8 worlds, which are populated by crowds of enemies and the obligatory mid-level and end-level bosses. It's the player's task to free all these worlds of intruders, and with it the world. Before the start of each level one gets to the shop screen where additional weaponry and ships can be purchased with the points that had been earned in the previous levels by shooting out aliens. Since the player starts the game with a certain number of points and only one ship he has to weigh up whether he equips his available ship well or buys an additional ship before reaching for the deluxe power-ups.

Shop screen (Amiga)

The strange looking creature in the top left of the shop-screen is a deserted alien technician, who looks after the weapons and sells them to the player. The weapons and ships are bought by selecting and placing them on the grid in the top right of the shop screen. In the bottom right corner is a Melob, a creature that has a job at the trash utilization plant. Already installed parts of the ships or even the whole ships can be given to the Melob and one will get his money back. Above the Melob the acoount balance is displayed.

The weapons that can be bought in the shop are:

• The three different standard shots in three different strenghts(weak, normal and srong) that are displayed in the lower left of the shop-screen.
• The four types of ships which differ in their carrying capacity and extra weapons.
• The various extra weapons, like missiles or drones, which are displayed in theree rows right next to the ships. Some of the extra weapons are triggered automatically others are assigned to a primary weapon system or a secondary weapon system which are triggered by special keyboard definitions or joystick functions.
• The satellites, displayed in the two rows left to Moleb, will appear on the exact positions the player chooses in the shop on the grid. It can be chosen between non-moving and moving(in fixed trajectories) satellites. Three satellites can be installed at maximum.

The game can be controlled either by joystick(all platforms) or by keyboard(Amstad CPC and ZX Spectrum). The speed of the controlled ship can also be set variably in four(only C64) or five(only Amiga and Atari ST) steps. The standard shots are triggered by pressing quickly the firebutton. By pressing the firebutton for a longer time the extra weapons that are assigned to the primary weapon systrem will be triggered. The extra weapons that are assigned to the secondary weapon system must first be activated in order to trigger them. This happens differently depending on the platform. For example on the C64 the "shift key" activates the secondary weapon system and the "spacebar" triggers it.

Weapons & Ships

Item	Description	Shop price
Orange Shot Weak ||The weakest standard shot in the game and therefore costless.||for free
Orange Shot Normal ||A two way standard shot.||800
Orange Shot Strong ||A three way standard shot.||1600
Blue Shot Weak ||One way standard shot of medium quality.||1000
Blue Shot Normal ||A two way standard shot.||1600
Blue Shot Strong ||A three way standard shot.||3200
Best Shot Weak ||One way standard shot of best quality.||2000
Best Shot Normal ||Two way standard shot.||3200
Best Shot Strong ||The most powerfull standard three way shot in the game.||6400
Ship 1 ||A very small ship. Buying a complete ship, by pressing F1, costs only 8100. (Complete Ship = Ship1 + Orange Shot Strong + Flamethrower)||3000
Ship 2 ||A smal ship. Buying a complette ship, by pressing F2, costs only 9700. (Complette Ship = Ship2 + Blue Shot Strong + Firedraw + Drone)||4000
Ship 3 ||A medium ship. Buying a complete ship, by pressing F3, costs only 20900. (Complete Ship = Ship3 + Best Shot Strong + Energywall + Two Non Moving Satellites)||5000
Ship 4 ||A large ship. Buying a complete ship, by pressing F4, costs only 26400. (Complete Ship = Ship4 + Best Shot Strong + Energywall + Three Non Moving Satellites + Smartbomb)||6000
Weak Guided Missle ||A missile that gets released automatically in the game.||500
Normal Guided Missle ||A missile that gets released automatically in the game.||800
Strong Guided Missle ||A missile that gets released automatically in the game.||1200
Bouncing Bomb ||A jumpbomp that gets released automatically in the game.||2500
Energywall ||A extra weapon that is assigned to the primary weapon system.||4500
Flamethrower ||A extra weapon that is assigned to the primary weapons system.||3500
Firedraw ||A extra weapon that is assigned to the primary weapon system.||2500
Smartbomb ||A extra weapon that is assigned to the secondary weapon system.||2000
Drone ||A extra weapon that is assigned to the secondary weapon system. A maximum of six can be send out.||2000
Drone Collect Device ||Drones can only be brought back with the collector.||1000
Laser ||Strenghtens Drones and Satellite shots.||6000
Shield ||A extra weapon that is assigned to the secondary weapon system.||2500
Satellite ||A non-moving satellite.||2500
Guided Sat ||A sattelite that adjusts to the height of the enemy nearest to the ship.||3500
Sat Half Circle ||A satellite wit a pre-fixed movement.||2750
Sat Large Circle ||A satellite with a pre-fixed movement.||2500
Sat Mirror ||A satellite with a pre-fixed movement.||3000
Vsat ||A satellite with a pre-fixed movement.||2500
Sat Small Cirlce ||A satellite with a pre-fixed movement.||2500
Sat Oval ||A satellite with a pre-fixed movement.||2500

Reviews

Magazine	Issue	Page	System	Rating	%	Reviewer	Language
ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment)	02/1990	46	Amiga	939 out of 1000	94 ||Eugene Lacey||English
Amiga Mania	03/1992	34	Amiga	94 out of 100	94 ||Adrain Pumphrey||English
Joystick	06/1990	143	Amstrad CPC	94 out of 100	94 ||Bo TGV||French
Your Commodore	06/1990	26	C64	94 out of 100	94 ||ACC||English
Amiga Joker	02/1990	09	Amiga	91 out of 100	91 ||Carsten Borgmeier||German
Zero	02/1990	44,45	Amiga	91 out of 100	91 ||Paul Lakin||English
Generation 4	01/1990	40,41	Amiga	90 out of 100	90 ||-||French
Computer + Video Games	02/1990	44,45	Amiga	90 out of 100	90 ||Paul Rand||English
Datormagazin	02/1990	13	Amiga	9 out of 10	90 ||Johan Pettersson||Swedish
Sinclair User	02/1990	22,23	ZX Spectrum	90 out of 100	90 ||-||English
Amiga Computing	04/1990	57	Amiga	90 out of 100	90 ||Green||English
The Games Machine	02/1990	50,51	Amiga	89 out of 100	89 ||Warren Lapworth||English
Computer + Video Games	05/1990	66,67	C64	88 out of 100	88 ||-||English
Sinclair User	12/1991	49	ZX Spectrum	87 out of 100	87 ||Garth Sumpter||English
Commodore User	01/1990	42,43	Amiga	86 out of 100	86 ||Mike Pattenden||English
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	01/1990	06	Amiga	10.2 out of 12	85 ||Torsten Oppermann||German
Joystick	01/1990	127	Amiga	85 out of 100	85 ||Kaaa||French
Zzap	12/1991	64	C64	85 out of 100	85 ||-||English
Your Sinclair	03/1990	56	ZX Spectrum	84 out of 100	84 ||Matt Well||English
Joystick	04/1990	111	Atari ST	84 out of 100	84 ||Kaaa||French
Zzap	05/1990	10	Amiga	84 out of 100	84 ||Scorelord, Robin Hogg||English
Zzap	05/1990	10	C64	82 out of 100	82 ||Scorelord, Robin Hogg||English
Amiga Action	03/1992	80	Amiga	82 out of 100	82 ||Peter Lee||English
Amiga Action	03/1990	56,57	Amiga	81 out of 100	81 ||Steve Merrett, Alex Simmons, Doug Johns||English
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	05/1990	60	ZX Spectrum	9.75 out of 12	81	Torsten Oppermann	German
Datormagazin	05/1990	23	C64	8 out of 10	80 ||Magnus Reitberger||Swedish
The One	01/1990	57,58	Amiga	79 out of 100	79 ||Gary White||English
The Games Machine	05/1990	60	C64	79 out of 100	79 ||Warren Lapworth||English
Amiga Format	02/1990	40	Amiga	78 out of 100	78 ||Andy Smith||English
Power Play	05/1990	107	C64	75 out of 100	75 ||Henrik Fisch||German
Crash	02/1990	42,43	ZX Spectrum	73 out of 100	73 ||Mark, Nick||English
Power Play	02/1990	46	Amiga	71 out of 100	71 ||Henrik Fisch||German
Micro Hobby	04/1990	28	ZX Spectrum	69 out of 100	69 ||-||Spanish
ACAR	07/1990	76	Amiga, C64	69 out of 100	69 ||-||English
Power Play	04/1990	105	Atari ST	67 out of 100	67 ||Henrik Fisch||German
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	04/1990	63	C64	7.8 out of 12	65 ||Torsten Oppermann||German
64'er	06/1990	120	C64	6 out of 10	60	Matthias Fichtner	German
Commodore Force	03/1993	22	C64	60 out of 100	60 ||-||English
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	04/1990	63	Atari ST	6.8 out of 12	57	Torsten Oppermann	German
ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment)	07/1990	64	C64	470 out of 1000	47 ||-||English

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Game details

Name

X-Out

Release Date

1990

Platform

Amiga (Platform)
Amstrad CPC (Platform)
Atari ST (Platform)
Commodore 64 (Platform)
ZX Spectrum (Platform)

Developer

Rainbow Arts Software (Company)

Arc Developments (Company)

Publisher

U.S. Gold Ltd. (Company)

Kixx (Company)

Erbe Software, S.A. (Company)

Rainbow Arts Software (Company)

EDOS (Company)

Top Shots (Company)

Genre

Action (Genre)
Shoot 'Em Up (Genre)

Theme

Sci-Fi (Theme)

Franchise

X-Out (Franchise)

Aliases

Cross Out

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Characters

• Grainger (Character)
• Melob (Character)

Locations

• Underwater (Location)

Concepts

• Boss Fight (Concept)
• High Score (Concept)
• Side-Scrolling (Concept)
• Alien (Concept)
• Upgradeable Weapon (Concept)
• Underwater Gameplay (Concept)
• Merchant (Concept)
• Upgradeable Vehicles (Concept)
• ASM Hit (Concept)

Objects

• Laser (Object)
• Missile (Object)

People

• None