How to play Front Line online
- Move and aim: arrow keys (tap a direction while standing still to aim without moving)
- Fire: Space
- Climb into an empty tank: touch it and press Space with no direction held
- Leave a tank: hold Space; tap it to bail out of a tank that has been hit
- Choose skill level (1–4) and one or two players: F11 (Select)
- Start the game: F12 (Reset)
- Player 2: T/F/G/H to move, A to fire
Gameplay
You start on foot with a pistol for soldiers and anti-tank missiles for tanks. The route runs along a road, through thick brush that slows everyone down, and across a desert of rocks and cactuses. Trees, rocks and walls block shots as well as movement.
In the desert you can take over an abandoned tank: a fast light tank with a machine gun, or a slow heavy tank with a cannon. A hit tank shakes briefly before exploding, giving you a moment to jump out. Past a river bridge and a zone of ruined walls stands the fort, which only a soldier on foot can destroy with an anti-tank missile, so you must leave your tank while enemy tanks keep coming.
Each enemy is worth 100 points. Destroying the fort earns 1,000 points times the current skill level and moves you up a level, to a maximum of 4. You start with five soldiers and get one back for each completed round, up to five. The difficulty switches are not used.
Tips
- Aim before you step out. Turning on the spot lets you line up a shot without walking into fire.
- Use the brush. It slows enemies as much as it slows you.
- Bail out fast. A hit tank is lost, but your soldier doesn’t have to be.
- Leave the tank behind cover. You must go on foot at the fort, so stop behind a wall before jumping out.
History
Taito released Front Line in arcades in 1982; it was designed by Tetsuya Sasaki. Coleco brought it home on its own ColecoVision and on the Atari 2600. The 2600 cartridge, Coleco number 2665, appeared in 1984, and original copies are fairly scarce today.
Similar games to play next
- Commando – Capcom’s later overhead run-and-gun game
- Ikari Warriors – another overhead soldier-against-an-army shooter
- Armor Ambush – M Network’s overhead tank battles
- Robot Tank – Activision’s first-person tank combat