Two Tigers (video game)

Two Tigers
Developer(s)	Bally Midway
Publisher(s)	Bally Midway
Designer(s)	Ron Haliburton Tim Gilbert[1]
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release	1984
Genre(s)	Multidirectional shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player 2 player cooperative 2 player competitive
Arcade system	Midway MCR II [2]

Two Tigers is a multidirectional shooter created by Bally Midway and released in arcades in 1984. It is themed around World War II-era planes attempting to sink military ships, but there are no references as to which countries are involved in the conflict. Two Tigers offers the choice of two separate modes: one or two players working together to sink large enemy ships, or a dogfight mode where two players attempt to down each other's plane.

Gameplay[]

In the primary mode, each player steers an always moving plane by rotating it clockwise and counter-clockwise. Enemy planes fly horizontally across the screen; shooting them causes them to crash into the ocean or the large ship floating in it. Each hit from a downed plane destroys a piece of the ship where it crashes. Naval mines drifting in the water can be shot, damaging the ship from below.^[3] Players can damage the ship directly by dropping bombs. Only one bomb per player can be in the air at once.^[4]

Destroying an entire vertical column of a ship causes a leak. When enough leaks have been created (based on the level), the ship explodes. As an intermission, submarines, sharks, and swimmers occupy the open water and can be shot. After a brief respite, a new ship arrives.

Lives are unlimited in Two Tigers. Flying into another plane spawns a replacement once the wreckage falls offscreen. Player-controlled planes do not collide with the ship at the bottom. After a certain amount of time an undestroyed ship leaves—another such departure ends the game.

Release[]

There are two variations of Two Tigers machines: one with a weighted spinner to rotate the plane (similar to that of Midway's Tron), and the other with a flight yoke for the same purpose.^[4]

The game was later released as a conversion kit for Midway's Tron. It has significant differences in terms of gameplay, visuals, and audio compared to the original.^[5]

References[]