AX-5: Orion / Quest1982

Part of ASCII’s AX series of baseline PC-6001 tape software, this compilation includes Orion, a first-person space-sim shooter a la Hadron or Star Raiders, and Quest, a maze-based dungeon crawler akin to Hunt the Wumpus.

Orion has you piloting a spacecraft and dogfighting with enemy vessels for points. The game eschews earlier Star Trek-based zone control systems for a more arcade-like experience, focused entirely on fast-paced combat. Different ships offer different challenges, both in tracking and aiming. Players at the time noted this game for its impressive graphics performance and replication of vector shooters on limited hardware.

Quest puts the player in a labyrinth which they must escape while defeating monsters. Using a radar to track these invisible enemies, you must collect ammunition throughout the corridors, shoot the beasts down, and reach the end unscathed. Like its companion program, this game relies on raster wireframe graphics to run smoothly.