Front Line is a military combat-themed arcade game released in 1982 by Taito Corporation. It was one of the first video games to feature a ground combat theme and grenades.[citation needed] Military-oriented video games of the early 1980s usually involved vehicular combat, such as tanks, but did not include infantry. The original arcade version consists of a joystick, a single button (other than the 'player one' and 'player two' start buttons), and a rotary dial that can be pushed in like a button, which fires the weapon. The single button is used to throw grenades, and to enter and exit the tank.
Playing as a lone soldier, the player's ultimate objective is to lob a hand grenade into the enemy's fort by first fighting off infantry units, then battling an armada of tanks before finally reaching the opponent's compound. The player begins with two weapons: a pistol and grenades. The ammunition supply for both items is unlimited, so there is no need to acquire ammunition during gameplay. Once the player has advanced far enough into enemy territory, there's a 'tank warfare' stage in which the player commandeers tanks to fight off the enemy.
There are two types of tanks available: a light tank armed with a machine gun and a heavy tank armed with a cannon. The light tank is more nimble, but can be easily destroyed by the enemy. The heavy tank is slower, but can sustain one hit from any tank. Once the damaged tank is evacuated, the player can jump back in and resume normal operation without any deadly consequence. If a heavy tank is struck by another tank round, it will be destroyed. With either type of tank, the player must exit the vehicle within a few seconds of being struck by a fatal shot. The tank quickly explodes, and if the player is still occupying it, he loses a life.
The tank battle continues up until the player reaches the enemy's fort. The fort is a brick-barricaded tank which fires mortar rounds while the player attempts to take it out. In order to destroy this tank, the player must toss a grenade over the brick barricade. This requires them to be on foot instead of manning a tank. Once the player has successfully lobbed a grenade into the tank fortress, the tank will explode and an enemy soldier will wave the white flag, signaling surrender. The game then starts over with the infantry level, but enemy soldiers become much quicker and deadlier in successive rounds.
More details about this game can be found on
Wikipedia.org.
Find digital download of this game on
GOG
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Steam.
Videogame Console:
This version of Front Line was designed for Atari 2600, which was commercially very successful video game console of second generation produced by Atari from 1977 to 1992. It was the first console that used removable memory modules with games. At the time of its greatest fame, more than 30 million units of this console were sold for about $ 200 a piece. To date, the game library for this console contains nearly 1,000 original games. More information about the
Atari 2600 can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB joystick that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a joystick, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
5 different online emulators are available for Front Line. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game Front Line are summarized in the following table:
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