Berzerk (revision RC31A)

Navigate a series of interconnected maze rooms in Berzerk, a fast-paced shooter for two players released by Stern Electronics in 1980. As the Humanoid, your objective is to progress through each room by eliminating robotic enemies—each room can contain up to eleven laser-firing robots—and finding an exit on one of the walls. Destroying all robots in a room earns a bonus score, while escaping without doing so results in taunting remarks from the remaining machines. The game features a surprising number of mazes, with increasing difficulty as you advance. A distinctive element of Berzerk is its use of synthesized speech to deliver robotic pronouncements and humorous insults during gameplay, adding an unusual layer of personality to the experience. Players must also contend with “Evil Otto,” a relentless adversary who patrols the maze, often phasing through walls, making escape more challenging. The game’s technical design included a unique cabinet feature allowing front access to circuit boards, though early versions suffered from joystick reliability issues. Despite its monochrome graphics—achieved using an overlay technique that can create color shifts near walls—Berzerk was a noteworthy success for Stern, offering a blend of action and novelty thanks to its speech synthesis and unusual sense of humor. The game's legacy extends beyond arcades; its sound samples have found their way into modern music, demonstrating the enduring impact of this early maze shooter.