Played as part of Atari 50.
They're doing too much. Shootemup part is pretty fun, but the platformer section's really slippery and doesn't control too well. Although, I'm sure this plays different on hardware since it seems to have some sorta weird spinning wheel controller.
They're doing too much. Shootemup part is pretty fun, but the platformer section's really slippery and doesn't control too well. Although, I'm sure this plays different on hardware since it seems to have some sorta weird spinning wheel controller.
Absolutely in awe of Major Havoc's visuals, right from the start. The best combination of Atari arcade game designs yet, but with some extremely rough platforming sections.
(Atari 50)
Definitely ambitious for the era, both visually and gameplay wise, but it falls flat. The shooting segments in the beginning are nice, but the platforming segments are pretty bad
Definitely ambitious for the era, both visually and gameplay wise, but it falls flat. The shooting segments in the beginning are nice, but the platforming segments are pretty bad
Really wanted to like this one but the platforming controls really ruin the experience considering how often you do it. The shooting segments are nice and the visuals are great with constant actions but the egregious platforming controls are the fatal flaw for this title.
(played as part of ATARI 50)
Tries to make a little mini-space epic out of vector graphics. Following an overblown (for the time) story explanation complete with an in-universe excuse for having extra lives, a blast of bombastic (for the time) musical score, and even a five-second game of BREAKOUT on the loading screen, each gameplay loop consists of a scrolling shooter level, a brief lander segment, and a platforming level where you have to get in and get out of an enemy base. The shooting is passable, the landing is ... about three seconds long, and the platforming is so bad it instantly ruins the entire thing. Possibly the absolute worst controls for running and jumping in anything I have ever played. You get to that part, try it once, and then you're just done giving a shit. Force your way through to the harder difficulty platforming maps and you will know true pain.
It's clear that they were really focused on the look (which is admittedly good) and doing as MUCH as possible, without considering what actually makes a fun and successful video game. Didn't stop to think if they should, etc.
In summary, trying way too hard.
Tries to make a little mini-space epic out of vector graphics. Following an overblown (for the time) story explanation complete with an in-universe excuse for having extra lives, a blast of bombastic (for the time) musical score, and even a five-second game of BREAKOUT on the loading screen, each gameplay loop consists of a scrolling shooter level, a brief lander segment, and a platforming level where you have to get in and get out of an enemy base. The shooting is passable, the landing is ... about three seconds long, and the platforming is so bad it instantly ruins the entire thing. Possibly the absolute worst controls for running and jumping in anything I have ever played. You get to that part, try it once, and then you're just done giving a shit. Force your way through to the harder difficulty platforming maps and you will know true pain.
It's clear that they were really focused on the look (which is admittedly good) and doing as MUCH as possible, without considering what actually makes a fun and successful video game. Didn't stop to think if they should, etc.
In summary, trying way too hard.
If Gravitar and a platformer had a baby, mixed with some dull space schump segments.
Proto-Metroid!
Kinda.
...Not really.
The "two-games-in-one" idea is very cool, especially for the time. Technically three games because you can play breakout for a couple seconds in the bottom right corner of the screen right before the flying section.
Kinda.
...Not really.
The "two-games-in-one" idea is very cool, especially for the time. Technically three games because you can play breakout for a couple seconds in the bottom right corner of the screen right before the flying section.
The game starts off on a high with the space ship shooting and the 3D wire frame esthetic, being fun to shoot at the opposing ship. However it's when you then have to get on the the ship and destroy it from the inside where it just straight up feels cheap, unfair, and tedious as hell. With a bunch of enemies floating about, requiring you to go a specific area of the ship, all without getting hit by the enemies, nor getting hit by one of the ship hazards. AND THEN you have to escape the ship before it blows up while avoiding the same hazards. Really cheap, tedious and unfair because of how bad the controls become in the 2d sections.
When controlling the ship, it feels like a standard space shooter, it feels great, I don't know what happened when they were programming the side scrolling/2d interior ship sections but they're just tedious and has one of the most annoying jumps that requires you to hold the button in order to increase or decrease the amount of jump you want to do, rather than having a standard jump that can get into the areas easily, that and it doesn't help that the jump is floaty as hell leading to cheap deaths. It starts off so well then nose dives, such a shame.
Played on Atari 50.
When controlling the ship, it feels like a standard space shooter, it feels great, I don't know what happened when they were programming the side scrolling/2d interior ship sections but they're just tedious and has one of the most annoying jumps that requires you to hold the button in order to increase or decrease the amount of jump you want to do, rather than having a standard jump that can get into the areas easily, that and it doesn't help that the jump is floaty as hell leading to cheap deaths. It starts off so well then nose dives, such a shame.
Played on Atari 50.
Everything but the kitchen sink in this one. I'd think a lot more highly of it if the sidescrolling platformer segments didn't feel so poor. Still rather ambitious.
Really visually cool vector game. The shooter sections are phenomenal, but the platforming, less so.