''X-Out'' is a horizontally

scrolling shooter In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text ...

with eight levels set underwater. It was released by

Rainbow Arts Rainbow Arts Software GmbH was a German video game publisher based in Gütersloh. The company was founded in 1984 by Marc Ullrich and Thomas Meiertoberens and acquired by Rushware in 1986. The company's decline began in the early 1990s: The dist ...

in 1989 for the

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 ...

, and in 1990 for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

. At the time of release, it was unclear if the title was pronounced ''cross out'' or ''ex out'', but the cassette version of the Commodore 64 version displays "Loading Crossout" at the beginning of the loading process. In both Amiga and C64 versions, the synthesized voice in the introduction says, "Get ready for Crossout." The sequel, ''

Z-Out ''Z-Out'' is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for the Amiga and Atari ST by Rainbow Arts Rainbow Arts Software GmbH was a German video game publisher based in Gütersloh. The company was founded in 1984 by Marc Ullrich and Thomas Mei ...

'', abandons this pronunciation pattern. On 13 January, 2022, Ziggurat Interactive announced that they had acquired the rights to the game.

Gameplay

Before starting the game and between levels, the player visits a shop and uses their game score to purchase new submarines and equipment. The submarines come in four different variants, and additional purchases act as additional "lives". Each can be equipped with a one-way, two-way or three-way fire weapon of increasing power (and thus cost). Secondary weapons include sonic waves, power-shots and target-seeking missiles. The player can also purchase auxiliary satellites and specify their movement pattern, which can be circular orbits, vertical and horizontal movements, or an intercepting action.

Reception

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The ...

'' gave the ZX Spectrum version a score of 84%, highlighting the comprehensive shop sequence and large, well-animated enemies. Criticisms included the monochrome graphics which were said to be a little confusing, and the lack of a sense of danger. A retrospective review for the Amiga version from HonestGamers scored the game 4/5, praising some of the game's atypical design choices, but complaining that the final stage outstays its welcome.

References

{{reflist

External links

''X-Out''
at Amiga Hall of Light 1989 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Video games developed in Germany ZX Spectrum games Horizontally scrolling shooters Video games scored by Chris Huelsbeck Single-player video games Rainbow Arts games