"Let's Get This Ball Rolling!"

Going to the dentist is a nightmare for every kid. Fortunately for myself, in the late 80's my parents used to take me to a dental office which was set up just for kids. The waiting room wasn't your typical ‘sit-and-read' area. Instead of being filled with gossip magazines, about a dozen arcade games lined the walls. Yet, for myself, only one mattered: Centipede. Even in that age of Nintendo, Centipede was unmatched in terms of arcade enjoyment, proving that classics never die. God forbid another kid would be on that machine. I would stand next to him with arms folded and telling him them how much he sucked until, out of frustration, it would be abandoned (cruel, I know, but that's what 7 year olds do to get what they want).

Centipede was released way back in the heyday of arcades, alongside the likes of Defender, Missile Command, and Asteroids. Yet there was one aspect of Centipede's controls which were (and still are) quite unique. That would be the inclusion of a trackball as opposed to a joystick. And let me tell you, it makes all the difference in the world. The trackball is essential to the gameplay of this classic, and given the frantic pace that this game runs at after the first few levels, the ball's sensitivity to the intensity of spin is irreplaceable. Even moreso than better graphics, the usage of a joystick was the biggest reason that Atari did this game no justice compared to the arcade version. Galaga should've done the same, as the joystick in that game has your fighter unable to get out of its own way at the most critical of times, causing death due to the inability to move with speed. With Centipede's trackball, lack of fighter speed won't get you killed. Lack of reflex will.

Most people are aware of the way Centipede works. You've got a little spaceship-shooter-sorta-thingy which can move around freely along the bottom 1/3 of the screen (it can even maneuver up and down a bit, differentiating it from some other shooters like Galaxian). A centipede, whose body is diced like sushi into different segments, putters its way down the screen on a kamikaze mission to smash into your spaceship (you know, I have no clue if it's a spaceship or whatever, but I'll use the term). You have to shoot all segments of the centipede to move onto the next stage, which is pretty much a carbon copy of the previous level, only with quicker enemy movement and a different color scheme. Everytime a piece of the diabolical critter is blasted, it morphs into a mushroom. Mushrooms don't do much, except sit there like barricades, shielding the enemy from your firepower, and also providing a pathway blueprint upon which the feisty foe skitters along. Like all early arcade shooters, as levels go up, so does the difficulty. Spiders and other creepy crawlers begin emerging in droves from the side of the screen, and the centipede itself starts dividing, different segments attacking you at different moments, with the pattern of movement becoming less and less predictable.

It's the sheer frantic pace of the game which makes Centipede so invigorating. No wonder cocaine was used more fluently in the early 80's then at any other time. You'd have to be hopped up to keep up with the evil centipede. There's no doubt that the centipede, itself, is wired on blow, getting more tweaked with each passing level. Space Invaders and Asteroids may get the adrenaline going in difficult times, but they're like snails compared to Centipede. In later levels, you'll find yourself not just moving the trackball around, but throwing it into wild spins to get out of tight spots, while you're mashing away at the fire button. Sometimes, you'll stun yourself with a slick maneuver, cheating what should've been certain death. There will also be moments where you'll scratch your head in bewilderment, after being smashed by an enemy that you never had the chance to see till it was too late.

Graphically, Centipede doesn't have much more than you'd expect from other arcades of the era (except color, which some titles at that time were lacking). Yet, for some reason, I love the look of Centipede. Like pretty much every arcade game before the NES era, Centipede is played against a solid black background. But it's the colors that get me. Each level is comprised to basically two florescent colors. One color outlines the mushrooms and the centipede's body, the other color fills in that outline. These colors look so radiant against the black background, you'd think they were made of neon. It's kinda like the colors used on the Def Leppard ‘Hysteria' album. Despite being utterly simplistic, this game is like candy to my eyes.

All in all, Centipede is a legendary arcade game with good reason. The uniqueness of the trackball, and gameplay which will have you taping your eyelids open (in fear of death while blinking) make this a near perfect arcade experience. If anything, Centipede is underrated, as it doesn't receive the same critical accolades as games like Asteroids, or Pac Man, or Tempest, all of which don't come close to matching Centipede in terms of sheer excitement. Certainly worth searching between couch cushions for quarters to use as a last case resort. Even worth suffering through a cavity filling for.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/07