Sunday, November 20, 2016

Blasteroids



Boring old asteroids again?

Yep, once again, the galaxy is overrun with rocks that need smashing to smithereens. Asteroids, and other rocks, come in all shapes and sizes so along with the standard variety there are also others: Popcorn rocks which bloat before eventually freezing. Red rocks that leave behind crystals to conveniently recharge your shield.

However, we're not alone! Beware of aliens who frequently rear their ugly heads and should be killed quickly to reveal a range of nifty power-ups - such as a double shot or the impressive Ripstar. Hmm, this is sounding pretty cool.

A part of me is thinking "Ugh, asteroids again". But I'll keep an open mind. Let the fun begin...



Who ya gonna be? Quite the selection for different gamers.


But how tough are ya? Come on, be brave and don't wimp out on me now!!


It's all rocks and aliens!

Blasteroids is split into segments and each is split into smaller sectors which must be completed before reaching a gruesome End Of Level Boss - the monstrous Mukor!! Your ship is equipped with upgradeable weapons, a powerful shield, and the ability to transform itself. Once all the rocks are pounded into dust, a transporter appears to whisk you off to the next sector - to do it all over again. Come on, don't be disappointed - it is Asteroids after all and what else are you doing?

Once all sectors are cleared you will finally get to lock horns with Mukor, a festering evil entity who fires miniature spaceships using his tentacles - so shoot each of those suckers first. That's my big tip and then you can watch him scarper like the fatty bloated coward he is. I actually enjoyed our battles which are fun without being impossibly tough!

This game is great fun and features cool graphics with a style I really liked. Wanna see some more...



Attacks from all angles and tremendous BAM BAM BAM fun!!


Asteroids, with flashy backgrounds and colourful pixels? You cynic!!


Joyslick action?

Controls are excellent and responsive: rotate the ship using left or right, push up to thrust, and keep slamming on that fire button to shoot anything rocky. Predictable stuff but gravity and momentum play their parts to affect performance which is funky. Don't worry, your shield will help to compensate for any poor piloting skills!! Not that I have any...ahem...

Pulling back on the joystick will transform your ship between three different models: the Speeder is agile, Fighter has the best weaponry, and Warrior is a burly beast. Friends can jump in on the action - at any time - with impressive cooperative two-player support. Just like in the arcades - what a superb feature you should not overlook.

Well, it's time to stop reading and view some rather cool screenshots...



The gravitational effect between sectors is superb...


...and then it's more rock-blasting again!


Aesthetics

Graphics are gorgeous - for what used to be a visually stark experience - I love the nicely animated rocks rolling through space. The enemy ships are superb and all other sprites are large, detailed and smooth. Oddly, the backgrounds are 4-colours but you would never notice due to their design and artistic flair, which I really admire.

Sadly, the audio disappoints with lame bleep-bleep sound effects instead of samples, which would have been ideal and easily handled for a game like this. Music is also a touchy subject and soon becomes extremely repetitive. Thankfully, it can be switched off but that only highlights those inadequate sound effects... catch-22... and I'm disappointed.

Okay, let's see some final screenshots before you scarper to download this excellent game...



Shoot!! Kill!! Destroy everything!! <insert evil laugh>


BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! So-much-fun!!


The CryptO'pinion?

This is a really good conversion albeit with a few niggles that spoil an otherwise great rock-smashing experience. Asteroid purists probably won't like it with all the extra changes and improvements but, keep an open mind, because this game is tons of fun. I think they've improved the genre best they could without adding bloatware to ruin it.

Okay, if someone put a gun to my head and made me choose between this and Stardust, I fear the latter would win. However, that win wouldn't be by much, because Blasteroids is excellent and utterly addictive. Genuinely love it!


Download for hard drive or floppy disk



Oh yeah, baby!!! I own this beauty :-)

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