Submarine Commander (Atari 2600)

Submarine Commander
Submarine Commander
Developer(s)	Atari, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Sears
Programmer(s)	Matthew Hubbard
Platform(s)	Atari 2600
Release	US: 1982;
Genre(s)	Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Submarine Commander is a shoot 'em up for the Atari 2600 developed by Matthew Hubbard at Atari, Inc..^[1] It released exclusively under the Sears Tele-Games label in 1982.^[2]^[3]

Gameplay

The player controls a submarine going through enemy territory. The player must shoot targets in order to win the game.^[3] The player views the action via a periscope that can be rotated through 360 degrees - a rarity for the time. Information provided to the player includes a radar scope, a depth-charge-detector, a fuel gauge, and an engine temperature gauge for detecting engine-overheating. There are eight modes of play, made up of single and two-player mode and four different levels of difficulty for each. ^[4]

Development

The game was one of three developed by Atari exclusively for Sears, the others being Stellar Track and Steeplechase.^[5] It was based on the Midway arcade game Sea Wolf II that was played with a periscope.^[6]

Reception

A December 1982 review in Joystik magazine described Submarine Commander as being a "very basic shooting-gallery type game."^[3]

A retrospective review at 8-Bit Central said the game was "not a visually pleasing experience", but that it the complexity of the gameplay made it "worth playing". 8-Bit Central gave the game 2.5/5 overall.^[4] A December 2012 review on the Video Games Critic website called it "an eye-opening experience" and liked the faux-3D graphics and action and gave it a grade of "B+" overall.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "Atari 2600 VCS Submarine Commander". Atari Mania.
^ Weiss, Bret (20 December 2011). Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984 A Complete Reference Guide. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 117. ISBN 9780786487554. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Submarine Commander". Joystik Magazine. No. 3. December 1982. p. 60. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Sears Submarine Commander". 8 Bit Central. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
^ Lendino, Jamie (2018). Adventure The Atari 2600 at the Dawn of Console Gaming. Steel Gear Press. p. 32. ISBN 9781732355200. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
^ Lapetino, Tim (26 October 2016). Art of Atari (Deluxe). Dynamite Entertainment. p. 196. ISBN 9781524101060. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
^ "Submarine Commander". Video Games Critic. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2021.