Cabal

Overview

Cabal is an action/shooter game developed by TAD Coporation in 1988 mainly for arcades (it was later ported to various home systems). In the game, the player controls an unnamed military commando as he travels to several enemy bases and attempts to destroy them. Although the gameplay was very similar to other games of this era, it sold well.

Gameplay

The main character is an unnamed military commando, viewed from behind. Each level is a different military base, but the objective is usually the same: kill of the opposing forces and destroy the base. The commando begins behind a protective wall that can be destroyed by enemy fire, a la Space Invaders. The player is equipped with a gun with unlimited ammo as well as a small supply of grenades, both of which can be supplemented by various powerups that sometimes emerge from destroyed objects. When the level is over, all of the buildings in the level collapse, and the next level begins. The game also features boss fights, although they were the most criticised part of the game due to the fact that when the player dies, they must begin the long, arduous fight all over again. Two players could participate simultaniously in a cooperative mode.

Ports

Cabal was ported to several home systems of the time by TAD Corporation, including the PC, Commodore 64, Amiga, and Atari ST. Rare handled the port to the Nintendo Entertainment System. The ports were of varying quality, with the higher-powered systems obviously getting an experience closest to the arcade game. There is an interesting cheat code in the computer-based versions of the game; by pressing the spacebar, players can automatically skip a level.