Crossbow (Europe)

Crossbow first appeared in arcades back in 1983, developed by Exidy. It's a light gun shooter where you use a positional gun shaped like a crossbow to take down targets. Years later, Atari Corporation brought the game to home systems like the ATARI 7800, and this European release is one of those ports. If you remember the arcade original, you'll recognize the same straightforward run-and-gun approach, though the home version naturally lacks the physical crossbow controller and uses a joystick or light gun instead.

What you actually do in Crossbow is pretty simple: enemies come at you from the sides of the screen, and your job is to shoot them before they reach you or your character. Movement is limited to left and right, and you can fire rapidly. The game throws waves of different foes at you, with the occasional boss or environmental hazard. There's no complex story here - just pure arcade action where your reflexes are tested. The Atari 7800 port captures the core loop well, even if the graphics are scaled down from the coin-op.

Crossbow is worth a look if you're into arcade shooters from the early '80s. It's not the deepest game on the ATARI 7800, but it's a solid port of a lesser-known arcade title. Compared to other light gun games of the era, it holds up as a straightforward blast. If you're a fan of Exidy's other work or just want to see how Atari handled a third-party arcade conversion, this one's worth trying. Just don't expect anything revolutionary - it's a simple, fun shooter that does exactly what it sets out to do.