Dropzone is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Archer Maclean (under the name Arena Graphics) for Atari 8-bit computers and published in 1984 by U.S. Gold.

The player dons a jetpack armed with a laser, a cloaking device and three smart bombs, to rescue the scientists and return them to the base.

Maclean purchased an Atari 800 as soon as they were officially launched in the UK in 1981 and started writing what would eventually evolve into Dropzone.

The Atari, being the Porsche of home computers, is capable of running Dropzone 2.5 times faster than the 64 and can handle any amount of blobs on screen, even when you release a Strata Bomb.

[8] Personal Computer World reviewer agreed with this notion, who also praised the game's graphics and sound.

[9] The Commodore 64 version of the game was awarded a gold medal in issue 3 of Zzap!64 magazine, with an overall rating of 95%.