<s>
Berzerk	B-Application
is	O
a	O
multidirectional	O
shooter	O
designed	O
by	O
Alan	O
McNeil	O
and	O
released	O
for	O
arcades	B-Application
in	O
1980	O
by	O
Stern	O
Electronics	O
of	O
Chicago	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
Taito	O
's	O
Stratovox	B-Application
,	O
it	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
arcade	B-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
with	O
speech	B-Application
synthesis	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Berzerk	B-Application
places	O
the	O
player	O
in	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
top-down	O
,	O
maze-like	O
rooms	O
containing	O
armed	O
robots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
ports	O
were	O
published	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
,	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
5200	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sequel	O
,	O
Frenzy	B-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1982	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
a	O
joystick	B-Device
and	O
a	O
firing	O
button	O
that	O
activates	O
a	O
laser-style	O
weapon	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
navigates	O
a	O
simple	O
maze	B-Application
filled	O
with	O
many	O
robots	O
,	O
who	O
fire	O
lasers	O
back	O
at	O
the	O
player	O
character	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
player	O
can	O
be	O
killed	O
by	O
being	O
shot	O
,	O
by	O
running	O
into	O
a	O
robot	O
or	O
an	O
exploding	O
robot	O
,	O
getting	O
electrocuted	O
by	O
the	O
electrified	O
walls	O
of	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
itself	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
being	O
touched	O
by	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
nemesis	O
,	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
function	O
of	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
,	O
represented	O
by	O
a	O
bouncing	O
smiley	O
face	O
,	O
is	O
to	O
quicken	O
the	O
pace	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
robots	O
remain	O
in	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
Otto	O
moves	O
slowly	O
,	O
about	O
half	O
as	O
fast	O
as	O
the	O
humanoid	O
,	O
but	O
he	O
speeds	O
up	O
to	O
match	O
the	O
humanoid	O
's	O
speed	O
once	O
all	O
the	O
robots	O
are	O
killed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
moves	O
at	O
exactly	O
the	O
same	O
speed	O
as	O
the	O
player	O
going	O
left	O
and	O
right	O
but	O
he	O
can	O
move	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
player	O
going	O
up	O
and	O
down	O
;	O
thus	O
,	O
no	O
matter	O
how	O
close	O
Otto	O
is	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
escape	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
they	O
can	O
avoid	O
moving	O
straight	O
up	O
or	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
advances	O
by	O
escaping	O
from	O
the	O
maze	B-Application
through	O
an	O
opening	O
in	O
the	O
far	O
wall	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
all	O
the	O
robots	O
in	O
the	O
current	O
maze	B-Application
have	O
been	O
destroyed	O
before	O
the	O
player	O
escapes	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
gains	O
ten	O
points	O
per	O
robot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
65,536	O
rooms	O
(	O
256×256	O
grid	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
due	O
to	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
random	O
number	O
generation	O
there	O
are	O
fewer	O
than	O
1,024	O
maze	B-Application
layouts	O
(	O
876	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
unique	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
only	O
one	O
controller	O
,	O
but	O
two-player	O
games	O
can	O
be	O
accomplished	O
by	O
alternating	O
at	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
voice	B-Application
synthesizer	I-Application
generates	O
speech	O
for	O
the	O
robots	O
during	O
certain	O
in-game	O
events	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
:	O
Spoken	O
when	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
appears	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
"	O
was	O
named	O
after	O
Dave	O
Otto	O
at	O
McNeil	O
's	O
former	O
employer	O
Dave	O
Nutting	O
Associates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
point	O
Stern	O
decided	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
color	O
overlay	O
board	O
for	O
Berzerk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
originally	O
planned	O
around	O
a	O
Motorola	B-Device
6809E	I-Device
processor	O
,	O
but	O
problems	O
with	O
the	O
external	O
clock	O
for	O
this	O
CPU	O
led	O
to	O
its	O
abandonment	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
a	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
suffered	O
from	O
failure	O
of	O
the	O
optical	O
8-way	O
joystick	B-Device
unit	O
;	O
Stern	O
suffered	O
the	O
cancellation	O
of	O
about	O
4,200	O
orders	O
for	O
new	O
games	O
because	O
of	O
previous	O
purchasers	O
 '	O
bad	O
experiences	O
with	O
these	O
joysticks	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
responded	O
by	O
issuing	O
free	O
replacement	O
joysticks	B-Device
in	O
a	O
leaf-switch	O
design	O
by	O
Wico	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Berzerk	B-Application
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
video	O
games	O
to	O
use	O
speech	B-Application
synthesis	I-Application
,	O
featuring	O
talking	O
robots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Berzerk	B-Application
was	O
officially	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
,	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
5200	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
version	O
has	O
an	O
option	O
allowing	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
to	O
be	O
temporarily	O
killed	O
,	O
though	O
he	O
always	O
returns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
5200	I-General_Concept
version	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
home	O
version	O
to	O
include	O
digitized	O
speech	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
port	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
of	O
computers	O
,	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
5200	I-General_Concept
version	O
,	O
was	O
ready	O
in	O
1983	B-Application
,	O
but	O
was	O
not	O
published	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
portable	B-Application
version	O
of	O
Berzerk	B-Application
was	O
planned	O
by	O
Coleco	O
,	O
similar	O
in	O
design	O
to	O
its	O
line	O
of	O
VFD	B-General_Concept
tabletop	O
games	O
including	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
and	O
Frogger	B-Application
,	O
but	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ed	O
Driscoll	O
reviewed	O
Berzerk	B-Application
in	O
The	O
Space	O
Gamer	O
No	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Driscoll	O
commented	O
that	O
"	O
if	O
you	O
liked	O
Berzerk	B-Application
,	O
or	O
if	O
you	O
simply	O
enjoy	O
shooting	O
evil	O
robots	O
in	O
electrified	O
mazes	B-Application
,	O
then	O
look	O
for	O
this	O
at	O
your	O
local	O
store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
watch	O
out	O
for	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
!	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Michael	O
Blanchet	O
's	O
1982	B-Application
book	O
How	O
to	O
Beat	O
the	O
Video	O
Games	O
compared	O
Berzerk	B-Application
favourably	O
to	O
older	O
,	O
Western-themed	O
multi-directional	O
shooters	O
Boot	B-Application
Hill	I-Application
(	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
Gun	B-Application
Fight	I-Application
)	O
and	O
Bandido	B-Application
(	O
the	O
North	O
American	O
rebranding	O
of	O
Sheriff	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
version	O
received	O
a	O
Certificate	O
of	O
Merit	O
in	O
the	O
category	O
of	O
"	O
Best	O
Solitaire	O
Video	O
Game	O
"	O
at	O
the	O
4th	O
annual	O
Arkie	O
Awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brett	O
Weiss	O
of	O
AllGame	O
gave	O
the	O
arcade	B-Application
version	O
a	O
review	O
score	O
of	O
4.5	O
out	O
of	O
5	O
stars	O
calling	O
the	O
Berzerk	B-Application
:	O
"	O
A	O
great	O
game	O
that	O
is	O
immensely	O
challenging	O
and	O
imminently	O
replayable.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
5200	I-General_Concept
version	O
and	O
gave	O
a	O
review	O
score	O
of	O
4	O
out	O
of	O
5	O
stars	O
and	O
praised	O
the	O
Atari	O
port	O
writing	O
:	O
"	O
excellent	O
job	O
of	O
recapturing	O
the	O
play	O
mechanics	O
and	O
the	O
voice	O
feature.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
was	O
ranked	O
78th	O
in	O
"	O
Top	O
100	O
Videogames	O
Villains	O
"	O
by	O
IGN	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Milton-Bradley	O
produced	O
a	O
Berzerk	B-Application
board	O
game	O
designed	O
for	O
two	O
players	O
,	O
one	O
playing	O
Evil	B-Application
Otto	I-Application
and	O
the	O
robots	O
,	O
the	O
other	O
playing	O
the	O
hero	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	B-Application
,	O
Stern	O
released	O
Frenzy	B-Application
as	O
a	O
sequel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Berzerk	B-Application
arcade	B-Application
machine	O
can	O
be	O
converted	O
to	O
Frenzy	B-Application
simply	O
by	O
replacing	O
one	O
processor	O
(	O
ZPU-1000	O
to	O
ZPU-1001	O
)	O
and	O
installing	O
a	O
different	O
ROM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2002	O
,	O
the	O
Atari	B-General_Concept
2600	I-General_Concept
version	O
was	O
hacked	O
to	O
include	O
speech	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Berzerk	B-Application
was	O
released	O
for	O
iOS	O
in	O
2013	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Vectrex	B-Operating_System
Regeneration	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
16	O
,	O
2023	O
,	O
Atari	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
acquired	O
the	O
intellectual	O
property	O
rights	O
to	O
12	O
Stern	O
Electronics	O
titles	O
,	O
including	O
Berzerk	B-Application
and	O
Frenzy	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1982	B-Application
a	O
player	O
died	O
from	O
a	O
heart	O
attack	O
while	O
playing	O
Berzerk	B-Application
,	O
which	O
has	O
been	O
cited	O
as	O
the	O
first	O
recorded	O
case	O
of	O
a	O
death	O
caused	O
by	O
video	O
gaming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
incident	O
has	O
been	O
mired	O
in	O
urban	O
legend	O
,	O
with	O
accounts	O
varying	O
as	O
to	O
how	O
many	O
people	O
died	O
(	O
ranging	O
one	O
to	O
three	O
)	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
death	O
occurred	O
(	O
while	O
playing	O
Berzerk	B-Application
or	O
after	O
moving	O
on	O
to	O
another	O
cabinet	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
whether	O
or	O
not	O
the	O
victim	O
was	O
showing	O
signs	O
of	O
stress	O
before	O
playing	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
influence	O
of	O
Berzerk	B-Application
upon	O
popular	O
culture	O
is	O
marked	O
by	O
appearances	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
samples	O
of	O
its	O
media	O
within	O
television	O
shows	O
,	O
music	O
,	O
and	O
movies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
third-party	O
clones	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
exist	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
Shamus	B-Application
(	O
1982	B-Application
)	O
is	O
greatly	O
influenced	O
by	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eugene	O
Jarvis	O
cited	O
Berzerk	B-Application
as	O
an	O
influence	O
on	O
Robotron	B-Application
:	I-Application
2084	I-Application
(	O
1982	B-Application
)	O
,	O
the	O
basic	O
concept	O
of	O
which	O
was	O
to	O
combine	O
elements	O
of	O
Berzerk	B-Application
with	O
that	O
of	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
(	O
1978	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
1981	O
computer	O
game	O
Castle	B-Application
Wolfenstein	I-Application
was	O
also	O
influenced	O
by	O
Berzerk	B-Application
.	O
</s>
