H.E.R.O.

H.E.R.O. casts the player as rescuer Roderick Hero, who, equipped with a jet pack, a laser-mounted helmet, and a supply of dynamite, descends into a network of dangerous mines flooded with lava, cobwebs, and mutated creatures to rescue trapped miners. Each level represents a separate cave that must be navigated by flying, blasted open with explosives, and cleared using precise flight controls, while a dwindling battery and limited dynamite supply push the player to move quickly yet cautiously. At the end of each cave a trapped miner awaits, who must be led to safety, which sets the game apart from mere enemy destruction and gives it a clear, understandable goal in every single level.

On the Atari 5200, the game offers colorful, atmospheric depictions of underground mines and smooth flight control via joystick, allowing for delicate maneuvering through narrow passages full of both natural and man-made obstacles. The combination of flying, laser fire, and blasting obstacles with dynamite creates a well-thought-out system in which the player must constantly balance speed of progress against conserving limited resources, since running out of energy or explosives leaves no way out of the mine's deeper levels. The dark cave environment, illuminated only by the cone of light from the helmet, gives the game a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere, reinforced by sparse but effective sound that faithfully accompanies every explosion and laser shot.

H.E.R.O. ranks among Activision's most highly regarded titles from the first half of the 1980s and is often praised for its original combination of action, exploration, and resource management into a single compact package. The game influenced a number of later rescue-themed action titles and still serves today as a model example of how simple rules can produce a deep and tense game system, one in which rising difficulty demands ever more forward planning with each step. Even decades later, H.E.R.O. on the Atari 5200 remains a playable and tense experience well worth trying.

Why play it: For players seeking a deep, tense game system built on simple rules, one that still works and is worth trying even decades later.