Turbo Sub

Turbo Sub
Arcade flyer by Jeff Conly
Developer(s)	Entertainment Sciences[a]
Publisher(s)	Entertainment Sciences Atari Corporation (Lynx)
Designer(s)	Dick Keenan[1]
Programmer(s)	Dick Keenan Steve Tatsumi David Fox
Artist(s)	Lars-Arne Hult[1]
Composer(s)	Gary Hubatka Suren Yegiyants
Platform(s)	Arcade, Atari Lynx
Release	Arcade NA: 1985 Lynx NA: 1991 EU: 1991
Genre(s)	Shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer (Only on Atari Lynx)
Arcade system	RIP System[b]

Turbo Sub is a first-person shoot 'em up released in arcades by Entertainment Sciences in 1985.^[3] Aliens have attacked the planet and the player fights them beneath the ocean using a submersible ship.^[4] Six years after the arcade original, Atari Corporation published a Lynx version, which adds a two-player mode.

Gameplay

Arcade version screenshot

Development

Entertainment Sciences created Bouncer and then Turbo Sub before folding.^[4] According to a promotional flyer, Turbo Sub contains over 400 images.^[5]

Release

A version for the Lynx was developed by NuFX and published by Atari Corporation in 1991.^[6] The manual clarifies the alien conflict as taking place on Earth in the 28th century.^[7]

Reception

In 1986, Computer & Video Games magazine called Turbo Sub, "One of the most bizarre trips you're likely to make".^[8] The reviewer praised how the experience is automatically adjusted based on the player's skill, so the game plays differently over time.^[8]

In a contemporaneous review for the Lynx version,^[9] Robert A. Jung concluded, "What Turbo Sub lacks in originality and variety, it makes up with blistering excitement. If you've got an appetite for simple, uncomplicated massive destruction at Mach 3, Turbo Sub is the way to go." He gave a score of 7.5 out of 10.^[10] In the "Atari Attack" column in the final issue of Raze magazine, Turbo Sub received a score of 73%.^[11]

Notes

1. Ported to Atari Lynx by NuFX
2. Short for Real-Time Image Processor System.^[1][2]

References

1. Chris (2019). "Turbo Sub". turbosub.com. Entertainment Sciences. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
2. "Turbo Sub". arcade-history.com. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
3. "Turbo Sub". The International Arcade Museum, arcade-museum.com. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
4. Turbo Sub at the Killer List of Videogames
5. "Turbo Sub Arcade Flyer". archive.org. Entertainment Sciences. 1985.
6. "Turbo Sub". Atari Gamer.
7. "Turbo Sub Manual (HTML)". AtariAge. Atari Corporation. 1991.
8. Edgeley, Clare (April 1986). "Arcade Action: Turbo Sub". Computer and Video Games (54): 86.
9. Iida, Keita (January 1998). "Random Reviews Lite - Turbo Sub (Atari, for Lynx)". Digital Press - The Bio-Degradable Source For Videogamers. No. 35. Joe Santulli. p. 17.
10. Jung, Robert A. (September 29, 1991). "LYNX: Turbo Sub". atariarchives.org.
11. "Atari Attack". archive.org. Raze. October 1991. p. 24. Retrieved 20 August 2018.

External links

• Turbo Sub at AtariAge
• Turbo Sub at GameFAQs
• Turbo Sub at Killer List of Videogames
• Turbo Sub at MobyGames