Back in 1988 publisher Domark released Star Wars II: The Empire Strikes Back as a sequel to its earlier success, Star Wars. Again relying on the heavy vector line graphic environment, The Empire Strikes Back is another strong conversion of an arcade Star Wars game.
However, Atari owners got to enjoy a completely different game. A side scrolling shooter pitting a snowspeeder against an army of AT-ATs, the aim is to protect the rebel base on Hoth from attack. Released on the Atari 2600 in 1985, it’s a game that made a major diversion from the recognised Star Wars game look at the time, but in terms of a concept, it’s one that stands up.
So much so that indie devs Megastyle Productions are working on a Commodore 64 version. Check out these tweets teasing the Atari console take on The Empire Strikes Back.
Here's a first little taster of The Empire Strikes Back, #C64. This is a very early pre-alpha so much work still to do. Code by me, gfx by @superrune. Any glitches/fuzziness is down to the video capture. 🙂More updates to come in the future! #Megastyle 🕹️🚀 pic.twitter.com/yo3EM5gIL7
— Chris Stanley (@ScubaChris72) September 23, 2020
Pretty much everything about this is awesome, but just take a look at the AT-AT!
Here's a better look at the AT-AT I've animated for The Empire Strikes Back #C64 remake. This has been brilliantly coded into the game by @ScubaChris72. #pixelart #RETROGAMING #atari2600 #intellivision pic.twitter.com/a7jU5ETYxw
— SuperRune (@superrune) September 24, 2020
Initially planned to arrive in 2020, it looks likely that the game won’t arrive until 2021, missing the movie’s 40th anniversary by a few months. In the meantime, if you’re keen to celebrate Empire Strikes Back on the C64, here’s the old Domark Empire Strikes Back adaptation for C64.
(Via RetroGamerNation)
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