Line #11 VideoGame/Xenon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xenon_game.png]]
2	''Xenon'' is a 1988 computer and coin-op game, created by The Creator/BitmapBrothers and published by Creator/MelbourneHouse. Development began on the Platform/AtariST, followed by conversions to several platforms, including the Platform/{{Amiga}}, Platform/{{MSX}}, and Platform/ZXSpectrum.
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4	The player assumes the role of Darrian, an ace starpilot called into action by a mayday signal. A Federation captain is under attack by the alien Xenites, and Darrian is the only other fighter in the sector. [[ItsUpToYou It's up to him]] to clear a path through the Xenite armada singlehandedly.
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6	The player craft has two modes, a [[CoolPlane flying plane]] and a [[TankGoodness ground tank]]. It can transform between them at almost any time during play (except when fighting a boss, as well as certain levels where a single mode is forced). The mode chosen depends on the nature of the threat the player faces. Unlike most {{Vertical Scrolling Shooter}}s, the player can move in any direction instead of only straight up.
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8	''Xenon'' was a bestseller, and even featured as a play-by-phone game on Saturday morning kids' show ''Get Fresh''. However, the sequel ''VideoGame/Xenon2Megablast'' would go on to [[SequelDisplacement eclipse it]].
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10	!!This game provides examples of:
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12	* AllThereInTheManual: The game's story was only revealed in the instruction book.
13	* AttackItsWeakPoint: Your task in {{Boss Battle}}s.
14	* CheatCode: On the Spectrum, pausing and holding down the keys TINY results in the message "Greetings from the mad axeman. You now have an invincible ship."
15	* CollisionDamage: Hitting enemies will drain your shields. Hitting a boss is fatal.
16	* CreatorCameo: Captain Xod is Bitmap Brother Eric Matthews (digitally altered to give himself a cooler haircut).
17	* MiniBoss: There's a "Sentinel" halfway through each level, and a larger one at the end.
18	* NintendoHard: Make no mistake, this game is hard to beat.
19	* PowerUp: Destroyed enemies sometimes drop these.
20	* ShoutOut: The heroic admiral who foiled an [[BugWar extraterrestrial spider invasion]] is named [[Music/DavidBowie Ziggy S]].
21	* SpaceCadetAcademy: The [[GratuitousFrench Panterran Ecole d'Espace]] (abbreviated "P.E.d'E." to thwart FunWithAcronyms).
22	* SuicideAttack: Some of the Xenite ships exclusively employ these.
23	* TemporaryInvincibility: The "A" (Armour) power-up makes you invincible for 15 seconds.
24	* WorkingTitle: ''Kelly X'', after Bitmap Brother Steve Kelly. The title was changed when an incomplete Atari ST version leaked from Mastertronic (the publisher's parent company).
25	** A year later, for reasons unknown, Mastertronic used the title ''Kelly X'' for an unrelated ST/Amiga space shooter by a different developer. A disclaimer on the box alluded to the Brothers' home base:
26	---> ''All characters and locations featured in this production are entirely fictitious and do not refer to anyone living, dead or working in Wapping.''
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Context VideoGame / Xenon