Front Line

• Release Date: 1982
• Genre: Shooter
• Style: Vertical Scrolling Shooter
• Similar Games: Rambo III (Sega Genesis), 1942 (Arcade), Ikari Warriors (Nintendo Entertainment System), 1942 (Commodore 64/128), Ikari Warriors (Commodore 64/128), Ikari Warriors (Atari Video Computer System), 1941 (Arcade), G.I. Joe (Arcade), Ikari Warriors (Arcade), 1942 (Nintendo Entertainment System), Rambo III (Sega Master System), Ikari Warriors (Atari 7800), 1942 (Game Boy Color), Ikari Warriors (IBM PC Compatible), 1942 (Macintosh)

Game Description

A precursor to such vertical scrollers as Ikari Warriors and Commando, Front Line is an overhead-view war game in which players guide a lone soldier through enemy territory, walking around trees and other obstacles and shooting and lobbing grenades at enemy soldiers. At several points along the way, players can jump into large or small tanks. A special rotary control knob is used for aiming the soldier's gun and the tank's gun turret. At the end of the (recurring) mission, players must lob grenades at a cannon within a heavily guarded fortress. The unwieldy controls take some getting used to, but the action is groundbreaking and entertaining. Also, despite the game's wartime theme, it has an endearingly cartoonish quality.

Roots & Influences

Front Line is a groundbreaking game that spawned many war games after its arrival and brief stint in the Arcades. Front Line improved on the "constant motion" concept of games like Space Invaders and Pac-Man.

Review: Overall

Front Line is a classic videogame that few gamers can remember. This is a shame. It spawned so many games and brought war titles into the mainstream. Front Line is a classic and is amazing to play.

Front Line's graphics look like a bad cartoon. All of the pictures are composed of simple polygons and are actually quite rigid. The characters' motions are herky-jerky, and the straight arm gun-holding technique utilized by our hero is just plain weird.

Still, the graphics have an endearing quality about them. In an era where the A-Team was blowing stuff up, Front Line fit in perfectly. There was no blood. The game was generally viewed as "cute."

Front Line's sound is equally cute. The game begins with a simple drum cadence. The pop of the pistol is simple and to the point. The whining whistle of the grenade is fairly unbelievable but adds to the game's cuteness.

Gameplay is awesome. The constantly moving field forces action. Kill or be killed is the message driven home. You shoot or you die. The gun control knob is a little unwieldy, but you can get the hang of it after playing a few times.

Front Line almost requires the gamer to have three hands. It is impossible to use the joystick, the gun control knob, and the grenade button all at the same time. The only time that the game controls are eased is when the soldier climbs into a tank.

In the tank, the grenade button is only used to escape a tank that is about to explode. Otherwise, it is smooth sailing as the player can rely on the joystick to maneuver the tank and the gun control knob to aim the turret and fire shells. Riding in the tank is definitely one of the most fun parts of Front Line and is an innovation that was aped by developers for many games created after 1983.

The only bad thing about the tank segments in Front Line is that they are too short. As soon as you hop into that blue octagon, enemy tanks swarm you and try to blow you up. Only the most practiced Front Line gamer will last more than a few seconds in a tank.

The final stage of Front Line is truly difficult. Not only must you worry about swarming foot soldiers and an occasional tank, but you also must lob grenades at heavily fortified fortress. Never mind avoiding the gunfire from the guys on foot, just try to avoid the monster blasts coming from the turret in that fortress. It is not impossible to destroy the enemy headquarters, but it is not something that many people can achieve on the first attempt.

Front Line is a groundbreaking Arcade game. It spawned an entire generation of titles that used a continually scrolling background and overhead views. Front Line has many offspring, from air combat games like 1941 to war games like Ikari Warriors and G.I. Joe.

Front Line is one of the coin-operated videogames that fell through the cracks when labels like "classic" were passed out. Gamers should play and experience this game. To never know Front Line would be tragic.

Review: Enjoyment

Amazingly fun.

Review: Graphics

Great for its era.

Review: Sound

Simple and effective.

Review: Replay Value

This game begs to be played and replayed.

Review: Documentation

n/a