Targ (video game)


Targ is a 1980 shoot 'em up arcade game by Exidy depicting vehicular combat in a future world. It was followed by a more elaborate sequel, Spectar. Targ is one of the rare games that was developed in the west and licensed by a Japanese company—in this case, Sega.
A port of Targ was developed for the Atari 2600 by CBS Games, but was never released.

Gameplay

The locale, described by the game cabinet as "The Crystal City", is a simple 10x10 grid of roads demarcated by rectangular buildings. The player, piloting the Wummel, which looks like a small green car, maneuvers through the maze trying to shoot enemies and avoid collisions. Most of the enemies consist of angry-looking red wedges, or "Targs". Occasionally, a small cyan-colored "Spectar Smuggler" appears; shooting it scores a significant bonus. When all enemies are destroyed, a bonus is awarded and a new round starts. If the player takes too long to clear the board, the Targs's speed increases until they are traveling faster than the Wummel.
None of the enemies shoot back. Their sole means of killing the player is ramming in to him. Despite this, the game is quite challenging.

Reception

Electronic Games in 1983 stated that Targ had "one of the most unique approaches to the maze-chase contest".

Legacy

Attack Force for the TRS-80 is a clone of Targ released by Big Five Software in 1980.
Exidy released a sequel with improved graphics, Spectar, the same year as Targ.