Encounter

The first game to feature the first version of the classic NovaLoad tape loader. The player was assaulted by wild digital screaming and bleeping noises while the game loaded, and when the game DID finish loading they were treated to something really special. Essentially it's adrenaline pumping Battlezone on steroids, proving that gameplay wins out over graphical fidelity.

Encounter re-imagined by the legendary Paul Woakes. Smooth as a greased eel and lightning fast for the C64. Easily the best game of its type and one of my favourite action games on the C64. Best played in short bursts as it could get repetitive but still a game I play today when I get an itchy trigger finger. Arcade action distilled perfectly to its purest, most elemental form.

Fellow fans of Encounter might be interested in a remake I'm working on, that runs in the browser. Early stages but actively being developed!
github.com/air/encounter

Awesome! 1984!

This game is sweet! Don't judge it by the screenshots, play it

The word here is fast. This game might have the fastest 3D action on the C64. And it's not just fast, it's smooth. Really quite the gem.

This is a "First Person Shooter" in its purest form. LEGENDARY!!!

Although I will agree with the previous comment of being quite repetitive this game (although discovered only late in my teens) must have been a milstone for C64 standards.

Personally it was a joy to play.

Again one to appreciate for nostalgia reasons but still easily holds-up in playability.

I like it! Fast movement, 3D-simulation grafix, great gameplay. The game is quite repetative and simple, but who cares?Play and joy! ENCOUNTER:Kill'n avoid. 7/10

One should not judge the game by its screenshot. It takes the C64 abilities to its limits and definitely belongs to the arcade section. Being one of the few 3D games with a full 360° range of possible movement, it also provides this feature at a very fast pace.

I remember being banned from my C64 cos I was spending too much time on it when I should have been doing my homework... At night I'd get up and play this!!
I'd totally forgotten that until just now.

Along with Tapper this was the first game I got for my Commodore. A very tense game with a great 3-D feel. I remember playing it for ages over Christmas 1985. I also remember almost shitting myself at certain moments - for example when faced with an advancing line of missles about 30 long. Great game.

Paul Woakes loves his 3D games doesn't he, he was the creator of the Mercenary series and no one else could match his 8bit 3D skills for his fast action and smooth gameplay!... Play it now !

A really great game...
It is more a test for your reflexes and skills on the keyboard, because a story is not really needed...
It is a game that makes a tensions and real fun when you try to survive and you are hunting the high score...
music is also cool ( when you see it under the casual aspects... )...
cool and fast... Test it!

The timewarp inbetween levels was mind altering. The fire power of the enemy in later levels was hard to beat. I loved the hide and seek element of the game and the fact that you could shoot while going in reverse.

So much tension, especially when a tank creeps up behind you and fires a ping-pong ball at you!
Simplistic graphics but the gameplay is amazing!

Weird surreal bare-bones chase game. The rules and graphics are weirdly stylized, it's almost like a meta game, distilled essence. Very playable, inspite of being utterly repetitive.

Has anyone seen the trance video (artist unknown) with blurry, dreamlike slow motion "Encounter" footage?

Technically impressive... But rather dull, all said.

Its like a more advanced "Battlezone" clone. Lovely speedy graphics ensure the gamplay is kept well above par. Fantastic stuff!

I never liked the look of this game in the still shots of the reviews of the time.

But when you play it...
... The adrenaline just keeps pumping!

Awesome indeed!!

One of the games that I was obsessed with while a young gamer. Only somebody who's played it knows the thrill of blasting an enemy just popping out of the gate, the menacing hum of a suicide alien or the buttock-clenching excitement of trying to avoid the blobs between levels. AWESOME.

I think a game that stands the test of time is one that is most immitated. Encounter was brilliant and simple when first released - the Amiga remake just went to show that a formula and game play never dies. Addictivness is not the word - Brilliant is...

This game kept me going for many an hour in my youth, although what I was looking for in later levels I do not know, as they're all the same, but different colours! However, this really does prove the 'playability over looks' theory... Great stuff, in the 'Battlezone' mould...

How can a game this simple be this addictive? Really a positive surprise!