Years before the multiplayer game described above, there was a single-player game for the
Apple //+ called
Bolo which was connected with the
Keith Laumer stories. Actually, the only connections appeared to be a) the fact that you
drove a tank and b) the message when you cleared a level, which read '
THE DINOCHROME BRIGADE SALUTES YOU!'
This game was highly addictive, if you had a surfeit of quick-twitch muscle fibers and a penchant for fast-moving, stuttery action. The base premise was a maze; you watched top-down, and drove your tank (Bolo) around the maze. There were, naturally, various foms of enemy who attempted to grease you. They had different behavior patterns depending on their shape.
It was really an amazing piece of programming. Despite being in Dinochrome (Sorry, couldn't help it, monochrome) it held my interest for many years. There were a few odd things about the implementation that made
it extremely hard to master but very very satisfying to play once you did. For one thing, your tank remained stationary while the maze (comprised of white lines) moved around you. For another, you could move very fast. Next fun bit was that you could only turn in 45-degree increments, and your turns were instantaneous (anyone remember Automan?) This by itself wouldn't have been a severe problem, but your turret was also moveable in 45-degree increments, and your shots were slow enough that you really needed to maneuver the turret - otherwise you'd end up plowing into a wall trying to align your aim. The damn game was fast; it required a sort of elevated zen state at higher levels to drive around at anything but the lowest speed, as well as a good sense of rhythm. The maze was an altered grid with standard-sized squares; at high speed, the best way to judge a sudden turn was to keep time as you passed grid edges, like 'one and two and three and four turn.'
The controls were two mirrored sets of keys, one at either end of the keyboard. I used my left hand on the inverted-T (W,A,S,D) for movement, and my right on the right side turret controls (-,=) and the space bar for firing as well as the 'emergency stop' button. Many nights in front of my Apple //+ were spent on this one. Try it for yourself; grab any of the excellent Apple //+ emulators like STM and poke round. You'll find it.