LaunchBox Logo Back to Home Page
Illustration of Combat

Combat

Overview

Combat is an early video game by Atari for the Atari 2600. It was released as one of the nine launch titles for the system in October 1977, and was included in the box with the system from its introduction until 1982.

Combat is a two-player game where the players attempt to shoot each other's tanks or planes. Hitting the enemy vehicle pushes it back and gives the player one point. The game contains 27 levels, each of which has different rules and playing field layout. On the tank levels, the players have a selection of two different mazes or no walls at all, while on the plane levels, the players can choose to play with clouds that obscure part of the screen. The Atari 2600 difficulty settings can be used to change the range of a player's missiles, as well as the speed of one's airplanes in levels 15-27. All games have a time limit of 136 seconds.

The levels include:

1-5: Tank levels. Levels 3 and 5 are "straight missile" levels where the players' projectiles simply fly forward. On the "guided missile" levels (1, 2, 4) the projectiles can be controlled with a joystick after firing.

6-9: "Tank-pong" levels, where the players' missiles bounce off walls. In the "billiard hit" levels (8 and 9), there's an additional rule that a missile must bounce at least once before it can hit the enemy tank.

10 and 11: Invisible tank levels, where the tanks only become briefly visible when they shoot, bump into a wall, or are hit by a missile. Both of these give the players guided missiles.

12-14: Invisible "tank-pong" levels. Levels 13 and 14 use the "billiard hit" rule.

15-20: Biplane levels, where the players fly planes that are constantly moving forward and wrap around to the other side when they fly off the screen. Levels 15 and 19 use guided missiles; 16 and 20 use straight missiles; on 17 and 18 the players use rapid-fire machine guns. Additionally level 19 is a "2 vs. 2" level - both players have two planes each that move and shoot together - and level 20 is "1 vs. 3", where one player has three planes while the other has a single large plane.

21-27: Jet fighter levels. The jet planes move faster than biplanes, but other than that gameplay remains similar. 22, 24 and 27 are straight missile levels, the rest are guided missile levels. Additionally 25 and 27 are "2 vs. 2" levels, while 26 is a "1 vs. 3" level.

One of the very few Atari 2600 games actually programmed to be in stereo (which can only be experienced with a modified system).

Developers
Atari
Publishers
Atari
Platform
Atari 2600
Genre
Shooter
Alternate Names
  • Tank-PlusNorth AmericaFlag of North America region
  • Combat: Tank-PlusNorth AmericaFlag of North America region
  • FrontlineCanadaFlag of Canada region

Media

Banner

Combat - Banner (North America) - 680x96
North America -  680 x 96

Box - 3D

Combat - Box - 3D (North America) - 455x672
North America -  455 x 672
Combat - Box - 3D (North America) - 455x672
North America -  455 x 672
Combat - Box - 3D (North America) - 455x672
North America -  455 x 672
Combat - Box - 3D (Canada) - 455x672
Canada -  455 x 672

Box - Back

Combat - Box - Back (North America) - 600x818
North America -  600 x 818
Combat - Box - Back (Canada) - 600x827
Canada -  600 x 827

Box - Back - Reconstructed

Combat - Box - Back - Reconstructed (North America) - 500x680
North America -  500 x 680

Box - Front

Combat - Box - Front (North America) - 600x822
North America -  600 x 822
Combat - Box - Front (Canada) - 669x916
Canada -  669 x 916

Box - Front - Reconstructed

Combat - Box - Front - Reconstructed (North America) - 669x916
North America -  669 x 916
Combat - Box - Front - Reconstructed (North America) - 669x916
North America -  669 x 916
Combat - Box - Front - Reconstructed (North America) - 669x916
North America -  669 x 916

Cart - Front

Combat - Cart - Front (North America) - 400x487
North America -  400 x 487

Clear Logo

Combat - Clear Logo (World) - 1164x258
World -  1164 x 258
Combat - Clear Logo (North America) - 1166x210
North America -  1166 x 210
Combat - Clear Logo (Canada) - 1072x138
Canada -  1072 x 138
Combat - Clear Logo (World) - 9167x1988
World -  9167 x 1988
Combat - Clear Logo (World) - 9167x1988
World -  9167 x 1988

Fanart - Background

Combat - Fanart - Background (null) - 1920x1080
1920 x 1080

Fanart - Box - Back

Combat - Fanart - Box - Back (North America) - 1527x2100
North America -  1527 x 2100

Fanart - Box - Front

Combat - Fanart - Box - Front (North America) - 1530x2100
North America -  1530 x 2100
Combat - Fanart - Box - Front (null) - 1600x2100
1600 x 2100

Fanart - Cart - Front

Combat - Fanart - Cart - Front (North America) - 404x466
North America -  404 x 466

Screenshot - Game Title

Combat - Screenshot - Game Title (World) - 639x451
World -  639 x 451

Screenshot - Gameplay

Combat - Screenshot - Gameplay (World) - 640x480
World -  640 x 480