"dUdE lEtS gO sHoOt Up ShRoOmS!.!.!."

You may not blow up anything expensive or technological in Centipede, but it's a very fast game. With no level interludes, the quick drumbeat in the background and trak-ball(old upside-down mouse) that propels your shooter, a cross between a folded tulip and an artichoke, across the bottom quarter of the screen, you'll always feel there's something urgent to do. The way to get through a level is to shoot all the centipede parts as they bump off mushrooms(always placed randomly to start the game; although they are not lethal they may block your movement) and move down the screen. As levels pass you'll meet new monsters, and old ones will go faster. Through it all you'll need to keep down the count of mushrooms, which appear every time you shoot a piece of a centipede and take four shots to kill(you're allowed two on the screen at a time.)

Only centipedes and the spider feature in the first level. Centipedes move horizontally until they hit a mushroom, when they move down a row and turn around. Each level starts with twelve centipede pieces, and each piece has a head at the end. If you shoot a piece in the middle, two separate pieces form, so it's better to shoot a head which gets more points anyway. Actually, as you progress, there will be more heads to start the level and a shorter centipede piece, which adds to the challenge of faster monsters in general. If centipedes get to the bottom, they'll bounce back and forth in the lower area, with heads coming out of the side in short order. The spider serves as a distraction, never doubling back or directly moving horizontally but bouncing randomly up and down and diagonally a good deal in the process. The spider allows for a sort of gambling, as the closer you are to it, the more points you get for shooting it.

On level two, you are introduced to the flea, who drops from above and requires two shots to hit(it speeds up after the first one.) The flea leaves mushrooms in its wake if the count ever gets too low. Later on you'll meet the Scorpion, who runs horizontally across the top half of the screen. He poisons every mushroom he touches, so if a centipede hits one it will barrel downward until it is shot or it reaches its goal.

These four monsters, working together, can cause serious problems. Fleas create new mushrooms, spiders distract you at critical times, centipedes when dying obstruct further shots, and scorpions make it easier for centipedes to hit bottom and start multiplying. Although you are given a small bonus for poisoned or partially shot mushrooms when you die(five per) the field remains the same, so it's pretty clear you need to do some long-term planning. Many times you'll breeze through a wave and wipe out the final centipede head when you're better off giving yourself a break and shooting mushrooms while you're at it. The point you get killing a mushroom with four shots is an insulting reward(after I was finished being amazed by the black-and-white TRS-80 version, even more jaw-dropping than Hustler or Amazing Chase, I was outraged when you got NO points for a mushroom there,) but the open spaces that allow you more time and vision to shoot centipedes while they're high up is worth it. The only question is where to shoot. Blind determination to get through a level may also be costly when centipedes begin multiplying with increasing rapidity at the bottom and in your effort to complete the one level you leave a hopeless mess of mushrooms in your movement area.

The trak-ball is probably the right choice for the game; with the spider around(his wide body makes diagonal jaunts that much more dangerous) you need to duck out very quickly, and a delicate touch can propel your shooter to the right area. As you only get one shot so much depends on timing. While in most games you can line up under a monster and fire knowing their general direction, you have to take a centipede head's motion into account, especially not easy when they're not all moving at the same speed. Missing is costly as you can have only one shot on the screen(knowing when to lay off the fire button is a powerful finesse for advanced players,) so when centipede heads get to the bottom and threaten to proliferate, you had better be accurate. You also need to watch out for being stuck halfway in two rows as you are an easier targets for centipedes that way(fortunately the tip of your shooter is invulnerable, so utter precision is not demanded.) In various emulated forms you will probably use a joystick and thus have more short-term control of your shooter but cannot flee quickly to an area that needs attention. This kills the fun of being able to bob and weave like the spider, but you also won't overshoot your target. You just might not get there quite as soon as you'd like.

Centipede didn't have any revolutionary icons, but the three-color scheme changes every level(once every minute, at least) and takes a while to loop. It's always too psychedelic to be dull, which helps everything to show up well, and you can always pick out poisoned mushrooms easily. The mushrooms also have clever trim and I've always enjoyed their ratty appearance when partially shot. The spider is the most colorful of the participants, the centipedes wiggle their little dot-legs and slink cleverly between mushrooms in dense areas, and I don't know many games where your ship changes color so often. Even the homely flea will endear itself with time. The background drumbeat, the tunes for an extra man, the snare-drum beats when a mushroom recharges on your death, the flea dropping, the scorpion crossing, and the spider bouncing always give the impression something is going on and can even alert you to monster activity.

Centipede is one of the first arcade games to require long-term strategy with all the mushroom formations you need to break up to avoid being overwhelmed and the constant need to evaluate if you should be shooting the bad guys or the props aiding them. Its generosity with extra lives may allow people who think quickly on their feet to play for a while, and it even invites you to stay after you've lost your final ship as it sums up your score(there's added drama when you're close to winning another man.) It uses bright colors well to give an impression of morphing and tests your timing and dodging skills and is, unlike Pac-Man, different each game. You can play for levels or for points if you wish. No early arcade game had Centipede's randomness while maintaining its coherence, and the slew of offshoots serves as a testament to a wonderful original.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/00, Updated 03/27/02