is a
platform game released in arcades by
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
in 1985. It was ported to the
Amstrad CPC,
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Family Computer, and
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as t ...
.
''Metro-Cross'' runs on
Namco Pac-Land
Namco was a video game developer and publisher, originally from Japan.
Bandai Namco Entertainment is the successor to Namco and continues manufacturing and distributing video games worldwide. For Namco games released following the 2006 merger wit ...
hardware, but with a video system modified to support a 2048-color
palette
Palette may refer to:
* Cosmetic palette, an archaeological form
* Palette, another name for a color scheme
* Palette (painting), a wooden board used for mixing colors for a painting
** Palette knife, an implement for painting
* Palette (company), ...
like that used in ''
Dragon Buster''. It uses a
Motorola M6809 microprocessor, with a
Hitachi HD63701 sub-microprocessor (both running at 1.536
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
) and Namco 8-channel waveform
PSG for audio.
Gameplay
The player must take control of a man known only as Runner, who is given a time limit to run through each of the game's thirty-two rounds while avoiding obstacles and collecting drink cans. The actual running happens automatically: the job of the player is to avoid the obstacles and collect the cans by moving the Runner with the stick and adjusting his speed accordingly.
If the Runner finishes the round within the time limit, the remaining time will be awarded to him as bonus points and he will proceed to the next round. Every fourth round is special, using the remaining time from the three previous ones as additional time. However, if the Runner has not finished the round by the time the time limit runs out, he will be electrocuted and the game will immediately be over.
Obstacles along the way include Slip Zones which will slow the Runner down if he tries to cross over them, Pitfalls which will break under the Runner's weight and drop him into the holes beneath them, and Crackers which will launch the Runner up into the air and cause him to land on his back. Later rounds also feature Jumbo Tires that bounce towards the Runner, Walls that emerge from the ground before receding back into it, Cubes that move through particular columns of tiles, Mice that attempt to jump onto the Runner and slow him down, and Chess Knights and Kings that bounce from one tile to another.
The rounds also feature Springboards, which can be used to propel the Runner forward at a great speed. Some rounds have a special layout of Springboards, where it is possible to use one Springboard to land directly on the second one. Some other rounds also feature Skateboards which will speed the Runner up and make him immune to Slip Zones. There are also two different types of drink cans; kicking them will either gain the player bonus points (from 100 to 5000) or speed the Runner up, but jumping on them will stop the timer for a few seconds.
Reception
''Game Machine'' listed ''Metro-Cross'' as being the ninth most popular arcade game of June 1985 in Japan.
Legacy
''Metro-Cross'' was re-released as part of ''
Namco Museum Volume 5'' for
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
and ''
Namco Museum Virtual Arcade
is a video game compilation developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America in 2008 and in Europe and Japan in 2009. Part of its ''Namco Museum'' series, ''Virtual Arcade'' includes 34 titles; nine ...
'' for
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
(renamed ''Retro-Cross'' in the
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n versions of ''Virtual Arcade'').
A high definition sequel called ''
Aero-Cross
is an unreleased platform video game that was in development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by Namco Bandai Games. It was intended as a modernized sequel to the arcade game ''Metro-Cross'', and the third released under the Namco Generation ...
'' was being developed for the
Xbox Live Arcade and
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
as part of the
Namco Generations
was a brand name created by Namco Bandai Games for modernized remakes of their older video games. It was introduced in 2010 in conjunction with '' Pac-Man Championship Edition DX'' for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. ''Galaga Legions DX'' was th ...
line until it was cancelled along with the Namco Generations brand itself being discontinued; multiple players would have been able to play simultaneously, similar to
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
's ''
Hyper Olympic
''Track & Field'', also known as in Japan and Europe, is a 1983 Olympic-themed sports video game developed by Konami for arcades. The Japanese release sported an official license for the 1984 Summer Olympics. In Europe, the game was initially ...
'' games.
A theme based on ''Metro-Cross'' is featured in ''
Pac-Man 99
is a maze video game with battle royale elements developed by Arika and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Nintendo Switch. It was released through the Nintendo Switch Online service on April 7, 2021.
Part of its ''Pac-Man'' franc ...
'', as special DLC.
Notes
References
External links
*{{KLOV game, id=8683
1985 video games
Amstrad CPC games
Arcade video games
Atari ST games
Commodore 64 games
Kitkorp games
Namco arcade games
Now Production games
Nintendo Entertainment System games
Nintendo Switch games
PlayStation 4 games
U.S. Gold games
Video games developed in Japan
Virtual Console games
Virtual Console games for Wii U
ZX Spectrum games
Hamster Corporation games
Multiplayer and single-player video games