This classic game is a real golden oldie from good old Perfection Software who comprised of duo Tim Williams and Chris Jones, who were also responsible for other great games such as Fahrenheit 3000, Blockbusters and Turtle Timewarp.
You may remember we managed to Catch up with Chris Jones about three years ago who gave us many fascinating insights into the ZX Spectrum gaming scene at the time.
This is a real old school arcade game from the early days of the machine that still has an air of simple playability to it, even after all these years.
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| Check out the retro loading screen |
Two warring planets named Panos and Riggos.
After a period of relative peace it turns out that Riggos has been making preparations for a final, all-out attack on Panos. Now it is the duty of Algorth, (an incredible fighting man-machine) to protect the Star-gate, situated just outside the atmosphere of Panos, as this vortex of four quadrants will be where the Riggosians launch their attacks!
Mopping the sweat from my brow as I type.... :-)
It is likely that Riggos will first strike with the dreaded Blind Mutons, sound-sensitive creatures that destroy everything that moves! Algorth must totally annihilate this first wave in order to have sufficient time to return to Panos to take command of Odyssey 1, a mobile battle station.
The awesome Astro-fleet will arrive all too soonafter the Mutons. You must take great care, for every ship that is destroyed utilises a re-energy conversion technique which changes the wreckage into a deadly regenerating missile aimed directly at Odyssey 1!
But even if the Astro-fleet is destroyed, you cannot rest easy as the Riggosians will themselves come to Panos.
These desperate pterodactyl-like creatures of incredible ferocity are to be feared most of all. No-one has ever faced the Riggosians before...
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| It looks simple but it plays nicely |
Phase 1 is very similar to the arcade classic Berserk, with your man battling it out four rooms filled with aggressive robots. He can move in any direction with rotational controls, go forward and fire up or down at will.
Completing this screen plonks you in an Arcadia type situation where wrap around squadrons of alien ships fly overhead dropping missiles on you. Once dropped, the missiles also wrap around vertically, gradually filling the screen with alien ordinance!
Screen 3 pits you against those pesky pterodactyl-like creatures which swoop down towards you (rather nicely for a 1983 game I might add).
Beat these dudes and the battle is won!
On Release:
The general feeling was that this was a surprisingly difficult and addictive game to play. The graphics lacked size and detail but the machine code programming (remember this is 1983) allowed everything work extremely well. The game-play flowed along nicely and the small sprites moved around the screen smoothly
The Test Of Time:
Well this really is one of those oldies that just oozes charm in spades. As a fan of both Arcadia and Berserk this game hits the spot for me. Really simple, really old school, really playable.
We recommend getting hold of the real hardware - but if not then download a ZX Spectrum emulator and download Odyssey1 for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.
GENRE: Arcade Game
RELEASE DATE: 1983
RELEASED BY: Perfection Software
DEVELOPER(S): Tim Williams, Chris Jones
PRICE: £5.50 - UK
Classic Games, Arcade Games and ZX Spectrum Games
2 comments:
Never heard of this one...looks interesting! Might have to give it a go later.. :)
Hey Deadpan - it is well worth a go. Once you get the hang of the slightly odd controls it plays nicely.
I love these early quirky games
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