The movie, "The Last Starfighter", is available for $5 at Walmart. IMHO, they built this cheap movie around "Tail Gunner". This was early in the development of computer graphics, so don't fault the movie too badly for unimpressive graphics.
This use to be the one game I could play back in high school and the later is was Zaxxon. For me it reminded me more of the original Battlestar Galactica then Star Wars. I have the ROM for Tailgunner but no sound. Where can I find the sound samples? Thanks
Way back in the day, when I was a wee lad of 8 and 9 years old ... this was my absolute FAVORITE game ever. If I'd had a truck full of qaurters, 90% of them would have gone into this machine.
This was fun to play because it was like the scene in Star Wars where Luke and Han were in the Millenium Falcon firing at the Tie Fighters that were pursuing them.
@Extratexture4 Watch "The Last Starfighter". The CGI climax of the film was just a better rendered version of Tailgunner, the first real 3D video game.
Nice job, Cinematronics came out with some really sweet vector graphics games! A few got ported to the Vectrex; I wish this one had ended up on that console!!
this was a tough game ..think i recall an issue with our local machine......and the game did have sheilds.....like a ig vollyball net ..the ships would hit it then bounce back and became easy targets...but you only got a few uses of sheilds...game went to quick so i played the others that my quarter would last longer on...like star fire...or pinball
@bectonbrainwave Tailgunner was easy as pie for me. EVERYONE else avoided it, so it died. Most players were locked into 2D games and couldn't seem to react to Tailgunner as naturally, or anticipate as I did. I seldom did less than 40,000 and I never saw anyone else get over 20,000. As I recall, my best was 55,000 and I was bored because it didn't get any better.
@BeauEvil I was world champ on the stand up version at Wizards Arcades in summer of 1980 - get over it.... And, Extratexture4 - The last Star Fighter rocked!
@exp105 No shit?! Well, I wasn't there. ;-) I would have like to have had some competition. I could never find anyone who even liked Tailgunner except me. The fingertip control of the stand-up game was way, WAY better than the arm-controlled joystick of the silly sit-down version. Being a draftsman for years gave me a definite edge with that fingertip control.
@BeauEvil i liked the stand-up version toggle best as well. I have found online emulators as well as a gameboard that sets up on the conputer displays. Wish I had met you all!
The controls sucked in real life two. The joystick could be configured for either analog mode (returning an x/y pos) or digital switched mode (returning only relative movement). Most cabinets were set to the latter which was really bad. Unfortunately most emulators are too. I have this game running on my Palm Treo using analog mode and it works really nicely :-)
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The movie, "The Last Starfighter", is available for $5 at Walmart. IMHO, they built this cheap movie around "Tail Gunner". This was early in the development of computer graphics, so don't fault the movie too badly for unimpressive graphics.
BeauEvil 9 months ago
Comment removed
BeauEvil 9 months ago
I freakin' LOVED this game! Memories! Thank you for posting!
Cap285 10 months ago
I haven't seen this game in almost 30 years
Paulywint 11 months ago
All the vector games were awesome. This and omega race were my favorites.
southport97 11 months ago
This had a lot of my dinner money when I was a kid,top game!!
sammyd1969 1 year ago
where can you get the rom WITH sound?
UpcomingJedi 1 year ago
This use to be the one game I could play back in high school and the later is was Zaxxon. For me it reminded me more of the original Battlestar Galactica then Star Wars. I have the ROM for Tailgunner but no sound. Where can I find the sound samples? Thanks
Berkner80 1 year ago
Remember playing this in the games room beside the swimming pool at Sladnor Park in Torquay, Devon :) Must've been 1980 or '81 by then, I guess.
scottishwildcat 1 year ago
Way back in the day, when I was a wee lad of 8 and 9 years old ... this was my absolute FAVORITE game ever. If I'd had a truck full of qaurters, 90% of them would have gone into this machine.
GMPax 1 year ago
This was fun to play because it was like the scene in Star Wars where Luke and Han were in the Millenium Falcon firing at the Tie Fighters that were pursuing them.
Extratexture4 2 years ago
That's probably exactly right.
Umma6umma 2 years ago
@Extratexture4 Watch "The Last Starfighter". The CGI climax of the film was just a better rendered version of Tailgunner, the first real 3D video game.
BeauEvil 1 year ago
@Extratexture4 It was very much like that!
exp105 1 year ago
I remember playing while StarWars Episode V was playing next door to Wizards Arcade where I worked.
exp105 1 year ago
@Extratexture4
Ah, Tailgunner II.
God, I loved that game.
msspurlock 1 year ago
Nice job, Cinematronics came out with some really sweet vector graphics games! A few got ported to the Vectrex; I wish this one had ended up on that console!!
dave4shmups 2 years ago
this was a tough game ..think i recall an issue with our local machine......and the game did have sheilds.....like a ig vollyball net ..the ships would hit it then bounce back and became easy targets...but you only got a few uses of sheilds...game went to quick so i played the others that my quarter would last longer on...like star fire...or pinball
bectonbrainwave 2 years ago
@bectonbrainwave Tailgunner was easy as pie for me. EVERYONE else avoided it, so it died. Most players were locked into 2D games and couldn't seem to react to Tailgunner as naturally, or anticipate as I did. I seldom did less than 40,000 and I never saw anyone else get over 20,000. As I recall, my best was 55,000 and I was bored because it didn't get any better.
BeauEvil 1 year ago
@BeauEvil I was world champ on the stand up version at Wizards Arcades in summer of 1980 - get over it.... And, Extratexture4 - The last Star Fighter rocked!
War Games did too!
exp105 1 year ago
@exp105 No shit?! Well, I wasn't there. ;-) I would have like to have had some competition. I could never find anyone who even liked Tailgunner except me. The fingertip control of the stand-up game was way, WAY better than the arm-controlled joystick of the silly sit-down version. Being a draftsman for years gave me a definite edge with that fingertip control.
BeauEvil 1 year ago
@BeauEvil i liked the stand-up version toggle best as well. I have found online emulators as well as a gameboard that sets up on the conputer displays. Wish I had met you all!
exp105 1 year ago
Disneyland had this game in their Tomorrowland arcade back in '79 or '80.
rsp196607 3 years ago
Man, if I had a time machine, what would I do... shoot Hitler? Save Kennedy? Slap the Titanic captain and shout "look out!"?
No, I'd get a bucket of quarters and warp back to Disneyland's Tomorrowland arcade, circa 1982...
Umma6umma 2 years ago 5
Great classic game, but the guy whose playing it kinda sucks.
HarkonnenMan 3 years ago
...hmm, should I pull out my "teh controls suck under emulation" excuse again for the umpteenth time?...
Yes. The controls suck under emulation!
Umma6umma 3 years ago 2
The controls sucked in real life two. The joystick could be configured for either analog mode (returning an x/y pos) or digital switched mode (returning only relative movement). Most cabinets were set to the latter which was really bad. Unfortunately most emulators are too. I have this game running on my Palm Treo using analog mode and it works really nicely :-)
gtoal 3 years ago
Dude never used his shields!!
Darrylb500 3 years ago
Yeah, what a moron!
spike934 2 years ago
Awesome game, I have the cockpit version.
zfcamaro 3 years ago
@zfcamaro Pity. The cockpit version sucked. The arm-controlled stick was too slow and clumsey. The little fingertip joystick was much better.
BeauEvil 1 year ago
Good post i used to spend a fortune playing this back in the day
boomerhgt 4 years ago
Me too!! I first saw this arcade game at a motorway services many years ago and couldn't get away from it!!
theseus27 2 years ago
Close -- local arcade next to the five and dime.
One of the first coin-op games I remember playing, in fact.
What I really recall is that rasping sound of the player's lasers being fired. (There's sound on this clip, it's just low.)
classof77 4 years ago