QUANTUM
ATARI GAMES
DEDICATED COIN-OP
ACTION/DRAWING (really!)

And now, for something completely <THWACK!>

Oooog... as I was saying, Quantum is one of those rare games that can't really be compared to anything else, and is so unusual that it's pretty tough to describe at all.  I guess you could say that it, like the ColecoVision game Looping, is the ancestor of NiGHTS for the Saturn.  While Looping had the unique flight controls that found their way into NiGHTS, Quantum was the testing grounds for the little purple jester's favorite attack... drawing rings around enemies to destroy them.  Here, you've got to eliminate radioactive particles that bounce around the screen by trapping them in circles of light.  Your marker leaves a trail behind it, and once you connect the ends of this trail, anything inside the resulting loop is destroyed.  There are complications, though.  Although the elements orbiting around them are harmless, the core of each particle- the nucleus- is deadly to the touch.  Also, you'd better keep moving, because that trail behind you will start to shrink if you slow down... and will vanish completely if you stop.

After a half dozen or so rounds, things start to pick up and you're given more enemies.  You'll be pelted by triangles fired at you from the edges of the screen, trapped by the bonds between atoms, and overwhelmed by little blue stars that breed like subatomic rabbits if you don't neuter them with rings of light.  Like in Robotron: 2084 and Tempest, the variety of enemies (as well as the sheer number of them) makes Quantum incredibly addictive... even when you slam your mouse down in frustration after ramming into a particle by accident, you'll keep jabbing at the start button for more punishment.

Oh, yeah... that's one thing I forgot to mention.  Although Quantum was originally designed for use with a trackball, it plays like it was made for a mouse... in fact, this would be a great game for new computer users who need practice with the 'ol point and clicker.  If you're already familiar with the mouse, Quantum's still got you covered... you can select the game's later levels and earn even harder ones just like in Atari's other color vector game, Tempest.  Hmm... you know, maybe this should be the next game Jeff Minter brings to the Nuon.  It'd make the handful of unfortunate souls who own the system feel just a little less stupid about their purchase.