"Tempest 2000" modifies the gameplay of the original "Tempest" by adding power-ups, bonus levels, more sophisticated enemy types and wildly varying web level designs. The game features a total of 100 web levels, with new frame colors and variations after every 16 levels completed. In all versions, progress is automatically saved after completing a couple of levels and players are allowed to resume by using "Keys" to return into the last stage the game saved at. There are also three gameplay modes in addition to the main game. Completing all 100 web levels in "Tempest 2000" unlocks "Beastly Mode", which is a harder difficulty setting where enemies move faster, fire more often and are more resilient to the player's shots; in addition, the player's ship fires at a lower rate than in the original difficulty.