[ my video recording shows both colour and monochrome games ]
Let's take a big step back in time
Straight out of the golden age of Atari's retro gaming archives is Missile Command, a phenomenal shooter I played a lot, but more so on my old Speccy thanks to Ocean's Armageddon, a fantastic conversion.
This Cold War-era crosshair shooter is about protecting the cities of Zardon from a constant ballistic missile attack. Aliens from Krytol noticed how prosperous Zardon is so are free-rolling in and take everything. You are Zardon's only hope; grab hold of the mouse and use your arsenal to defend us from annihilation!
This Cold War-era crosshair shooter is about protecting the cities of Zardon from a constant ballistic missile attack. Aliens from Krytol noticed how prosperous Zardon is so are free-rolling in and take everything. You are Zardon's only hope; grab hold of the mouse and use your arsenal to defend us from annihilation!
Doesn't matter whether you run in colour or mono so check out these screenshots...
Angry aliens, again?
Angry aliens, again?
This has always been a cool game and the ST received a faithful conversion that feels as good as I remember. There is support for 1/2 players which can be configured to enable/disable other features - like the enemy's multiple warheads and smart bombs. Initial attack waves start off slowly at and sedate pace (skippable) but the war soon gets crazy when the Krytolians use faster missiles and smart bombs. Trying to detonate them is tricky, especially during the heat of battle when you don't wanna run out of ammo!
Unlike other home conversions, the ST makes convenient use of its tank mouse for perfect and precise control. Both mouse buttons are used to fire a limited supply of ammo - the left button fires from the left base and, well, I'm sure you've guessed what the right button does? The controls are simple and genius.
Unlike other home conversions, the ST makes convenient use of its tank mouse for perfect and precise control. Both mouse buttons are used to fire a limited supply of ammo - the left button fires from the left base and, well, I'm sure you've guessed what the right button does? The controls are simple and genius.
Okay, it's time to view some apocalyptic screenshots of doom...
8-Bit graphics and they rock!!
8-Bit graphics and they rock!!
Ok, visually, don't expect to be blown away. The graphics are typically crude for an early arcade game - most of the screen is a blank canvas waiting to be covered by missile trails. However, that's the charm of early retro games when gameplay mattered most. You know, I do admire those blocky cities (which I'm supposed to save from an explosive death) but I also love the whacky colours and font. Yep, it's silly... but so am I.
The effects are fine but I am a little disappointed Atari didn't roll their sleeves up and go that extra mile! We have heard far better from the YM chip and the game is hardly pushing the Atari ST, so why not use samples? Hmm, it's a little bland in the audio dept and definitely needed something with a little pizzazz.
The effects are fine but I am a little disappointed Atari didn't roll their sleeves up and go that extra mile! We have heard far better from the YM chip and the game is hardly pushing the Atari ST, so why not use samples? Hmm, it's a little bland in the audio dept and definitely needed something with a little pizzazz.
Yes, the audio needed to use samples but that won't stop the next roll of screenshots...
The CryptO'pinion?
The CryptO'pinion?
Missile Command is such a simple game and also one of the best from that early era. Fans of the original should appreciate what is an authentic arcade conversion and one which certainly brought back lots of great memories for me. This is fast, frantic and bucket loads of fun so that's a thrilling win in my book.
A timeless classic and I'm proud to rate this a nuke skin-blistering 92%.
