Laser Gates is the side-scrolling shooter Imagic released for the Atari 2600 in 1983: the player pilots the Dante Dart ship through the futuristic tunnels of the Cryptic Computer, dodging force fields that can't be destroyed, only navigated with precise timing, to reach the detonators that need to be eliminated. The project had started life as Inner Space at the studio VentureVision, which went bankrupt before finishing it; its programmer, Dan Oliver, completed it later at Imagic under the new name.
A design quirk sets it apart from the rest of the catalog: almost the lower half of the screen is taken up by the shield, laser, and fuel gauges, leaving the upper half for the action, an almost "widescreen" layout uncommon on 2600 hardware. It's one of the most atmospheric and highly rated shooters in Imagic's late catalog.
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