 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Borderline" video game – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Borderline | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sega Compile (SG-1000) |
| Publisher(s) | Arcade
|
| Platform(s) | Arcade, SG-1000, Atari 2600 |
| Release | Arcade SG-1000 Atari 2600
|
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter, maze |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Arcade system | Dual |
Borderline (ボーダーライン, Bōdārain) is a vertically scrolling shooter maze game released by Sega as an arcade video game in April 1981. The player controls a jeep and has to destroy enemy refineries. There are four stages with different gameplay. The first stage plays like a vertically scrolling shooter. In the second stage, the player maneuvers his Jeep through underbrush, and enemies can only follow on its path, a concept later found in Namco's Dig Dug (1982).
Borderline was reissued later in the year with slightly altered graphics as Star Raker. Borderline was a game for the SG-1000 in 1984. It was converted for the Atari 2600 under the name Thunderground, released by Sega's home division; it was one of the last games Sega released as a third-party developer for Atari. The SG-1000 and Atari 2600 ports received positive reviews from critics.
Reception
E.C. Meade and Jim Clark of Videogaming Illustrated magazine reviewed the Atari 2600 version Thunderground in 1983. Despite the original Borderline predating Dig Dug and Mr. Do! (1982), the reviewers were under the impression that Thunderground was a "semi-clone" of Dig Dug and Mr. Do! Despite this, they gave it positive reviews. Meade gave it an A rating; she said "there are superficial similarities to Dig Dug and Mr. Do" but Thunderground "is a semi-clone with muscle!" She called it "a real challenge" to play, stating "What a game!" Clark gave it a B rating, calling it "a thrilling game" and very "good stuff" but said "the sense of deja-vu detracted from its appeal" while also commenting on its "violence" though he didn't "think anyone will be too bothered."
French magazine Tilt reviewed the SG-1000 version of Borderline in 1984. They gave the game an overall rating of 5 out of 6 stars, while giving 5 stars for the graphics and 4 stars for the sound.
In a retrospective review of the SG-1000 version in 2014, Sega Does gave it a generally favorable review with a B− rating.
References
- ^ Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 35, 42, 52, 131. ISBN 978-4990251215.
- ^ "Borderline Advert(Japanese, top-right)". Game Machine Magazine 15th April '81. Amusement Press Inc., Osaka, Japan. 15 April 1981. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "Video Game Flyers: Borderline, Karateco (EU)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Borderline". Tilt. No. 12. May 1984. pp. 35–6.
- ^ "Home Video Game Console(Japanese, top-right)". Game Machine Magazine 15th July '85. Amusement Press Inc., Osaka, Japan. 15 July 1985. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Meade, E.C.; Clark, Jim (December 1983). "Thunderground (Sega for the 2600)". Videogaming Illustrated. p. 14.
- Borderline at the Killer List of Videogames
- Federico, Chris (May 30, 2016). "Thunderground". Orphaned Computers & Game Systems. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- Cornelius, Dylan (30 April 2014). "Borderline (SG-1000)". Sega Does. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
External links
- Borderline at Atari Mania
 | This arcade game-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
 | This Sega-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |