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I'm quite surprised this little gem hasn't had a full review yet! I suppose it gives me the pleasure of being the "definitive" reviewer of it here! heheh! The game became a personal fave of mine when I borrowed a mates copy back in 1986, he spent 87 and 88 trying to get it back!
It follows a rather generic scifi concept only executed with Sensible Software's usual 'oddball' style and flair.
There are six levels of eye-wateringly difficult overhead terrain, each controlled by a doo-lally super computer called "The Big One", no really! You have to blast the guardians, land your ship and hunt out these machine and shut them down, unlocking the forcefield which guards the next level. Simple? Not a chance! Your ship can change altitude and go under the scenery, but don't think you're safe from the enemies though, they can too! As for the computers? The machines are code protected, you need to find a scientist, take him back to your ship and drug him, to extract a password letter. Later, If you are feeling outrageously evil, you can also nick his credit card and steal his money too!!! (Don't do this, kids... Theft is WRONG!!!! O_O) Once you have the entire password, you can deactivate "The Big One" and travel onward.
I had ALL the passwords in advance and still never managed to finish it! The baddies, while annoying at first, became vindictive and started to gang up on my crappy little ship, the gaps between the buildings got narrower and I died/crashed/ran out of air more times than I can remember. I underwent psychiatric help as a result of this game, yet I will probably keep playing it until I complete it (I estimate 2040...).
An absolute storming little shoot-em-up with brain-taxing elements to keep you on your toes. A classy cinema style intro leads (via epilepsy inducing torment) to great graphics and title music Pink Floyd would be proud of... Addictive too. Horribly addictive....
Downloads: Music, Advert 2, Advert 3
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| GRAPHICS - 7/10 |
Cruddy aliens. I hate them. Four pixel punishment machines!
Background are still quite pretty. Lovely parallax scrolling as the game title
suggests, a major selling point! Overall, it stands the test of time!
| | SOUND - 9/10 |
An entire electronic orchestra soothes the soul while the flickering title screen
rips out your eyes and stomps on them. Great sound effects and a hauntingly gentle ingame
tune lulls you into a relaxing sleep, then you die.
| | PLAYABILITY - 8/10 |
AGAIN! AGAIN! My ship DOES fit through that gap! 17 years is quite a testament to it's
playability wouldn't you say?
| | OVERALL - 9/10 |
I love it. You will love it! Only those without a soul would find this not a worthy challenge!
From the moments of utter destructive chaos to the tranquillity of walking the eiree landscape, even today
there is nothing with a similar compelling atmosphere!
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| COVER |
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; "Click to zoom!")
; "Click to zoom!")
