Ant Attack

Ant Attack is a pioneering isometric action game set in the ruined walled city of Antescher, referencing artist M. C. Escher. You choose to play as either a Boy or a Girl and must enter the city to rescue your captured partner, tied up somewhere among the crumbling buildings. The city is infested with giant ants that chase and attempt to bite you. You can defend yourself by throwing grenades, but these explosives can also harm the human characters, requiring careful aim. Once the hostage is found, both characters must escape together. After a successful rescue, the game restarts with the hostage placed in a more difficult location, progressively increasing the challenge.

ZX Spectrum

Released in 1983 by Quicksilva, the ZX Spectrum version is the original, programmed entirely by Sandy White using his proprietary "Softsolid 3D" engine . While isometric projection had been seen in arcade games like Zaxxon and Q*bert, Ant Attack added the crucial ability to move up and down through the environment, giving players full freedom of movement across four directional axes and making it the first true isometric game for personal computers . The game was nominated for Best Original Game of the Year at the 1983 Golden Joystick Awards, coming second to Ah Diddums . CRASH magazine described it as "containing the most breathtaking 3D graphics yet seen on the Spectrum" . The game was also one of the first to allow players to choose their character's gender . The same engine was later used in White's follow-up title, Zombie Zombie .