Another budget game for the ZX Spectrum that was picked up by Kryptronic and re-released.
This rare and early title really is a classic game that stands out from the early era of Spectrum games.
I had this (the Kryptronic £1.99) version and I'm sure you had to type Load "" Code to run it - real early stuff!
Anyway, this game was basically a version of the arcade classic asteroids, and for a budget game it wasn't too bad.
As soon as the game loaded it featured 'effects' that were amazing to behold in to the new Spectrum gamer. The way the points you could score for certain objects scrolled onto the screen, the little flying saucer that erased the menu text, the beeping 'close encounters' little piece of music that interspersed the game - it's all retro-tastic!
Anyway - as was usual for asteroids you were dumped slap bang in the middle of an asteroid field and had to blow them all away to survive.
The rocks were in full colour (nice purple and green asteroids!) and your ship was represented as the usual white triangular shape.
You could rotate clockwise and anti-clockwise and also thrust in the direction you were pointing.
There was also the hyperspace option which basically made you vanish then re-appear in a random area of the screen. It was usually more of a hindrance than a help.You were armed with a lazer cannon which fired in which ever direction you were pointing. Larger asteroids which were hit would split into smaller fragments which would fly off in different directions. Of course all debris had to be vapourised.
The screen was also 'wrap around' which was usual for an asteroids type game.
Bonuses were also available by shooting the rapid flying saucers. They were not easy to hit and also took pot shots at you. They used to annoy me anyway.
On Release:
Conversions of arcade classics were popular in the early 1980's and this one wasn't too bad. It was never really a big seller but some folk (like me!) did pick it up on budget re-release.
The test of time:
This game seems really old. I reckon it was probably written in BASIC then translated into machine code by a compiler. It certainly seems that way. It's good for ten minutes, but the format of asteroids is pretty limited anway - and the lack of inertia on your craft is a downside too. This a real lesser known Spectrum game, and was created before the 8-bit genre really took off and diversified. Not bad for nostalgia though.
Fans of asteroids might find it interesting.
We recommend getting hold of the real hardware - but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download this game for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.
GENRE: Arcade Game (Shoot em up)
RELEASE DATE: 1984
RELEASED BY: PSS Software then Kryptronic re-release
DEVELOPER(S): A Tobias
PRICE: £4.95 then £1.99 - UK
My asteroids are giving me a problem in this classic game:
Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games
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