(played as part of ATARI 50)
Definitely a much different take on the arcade-y space shooter thing that was happening around this time, and it is cool, although I'm not sure I consider it quite the system-defining classic that some do. Looks great and has a very original gameplay loop that has juuuuust the right amount of stuff going on where it feels like there's almost too much but not quite. It takes a second to get it, but it's not rocket science. If the flying and shooting weren't tight, it would all be moot, but they're quite good for the most part, although I really dislike how you strike the final blow on the enemy - feels satisfying when you get it but I'm just an idiot when it comes to timing like that, so that particular aspect is more frustrating than fun, to me. I feel like the extra modes don't really add much, so I didn't find a whole lot of replay value. It's nice to look at and appreciate, but I couldn't see myself playing it over and over. Worthwhile to check out, though.
Definitely a much different take on the arcade-y space shooter thing that was happening around this time, and it is cool, although I'm not sure I consider it quite the system-defining classic that some do. Looks great and has a very original gameplay loop that has juuuuust the right amount of stuff going on where it feels like there's almost too much but not quite. It takes a second to get it, but it's not rocket science. If the flying and shooting weren't tight, it would all be moot, but they're quite good for the most part, although I really dislike how you strike the final blow on the enemy - feels satisfying when you get it but I'm just an idiot when it comes to timing like that, so that particular aspect is more frustrating than fun, to me. I feel like the extra modes don't really add much, so I didn't find a whole lot of replay value. It's nice to look at and appreciate, but I couldn't see myself playing it over and over. Worthwhile to check out, though.