Another Fighting Machine
Zedonoid is an obscure shooter released in 1991 by KJ Grantham, and something I'd never heard of before. It shares similarities with Cybernoid, in which we control a craft as it navigates a series of treacherous caverns. Automated defences, tight spaces, and constant danger make staying alive very challenging.
Each screen plays out as a self-contained arena, where you must dodge patrolling enemies and locate the switch to unlock the exit. Along the way, power-ups offer brief advantages - double fire, missiles, and short-lived shields - but they rarely tip the balance for long, so be quick! Progress demands practice, careful movement, and a willingness to inch forward rather than charge in (and die). Fortunately, KJ implemented a password feature allowing access to later levels without restarting from the start each time. Brilliant!!
Zedonoid is incredibly close to being good, but it's not (hear me out). The controls could do with a nip more speed (especially to quickly fire), and there are possibly 1/2 too many enemies for the level's claustrophobic layout. However, for all its faults, I found myself replaying Zedonoid again and again (then some more). I’m absolutely terrible at this game and keep dying over and over. I need a cheat for it ASAP.
Despite all that (lol), for some weird reason, I absolutely loved this torturous game!
- The official floppy disk image can be downloaded from Atarimania.
- Atari Legend has a great menu disk by Serenade (I loooove their disks!).
Some enemies fire at you, others creepily try to shadow your movements.
Watch out, they're coming at us from all sides. Wait, I see a power-up!
Argh, I'm in the middle of dying... In true Oids style, a mothership appears!
I can see the switch, but getting to it proves very difficult!
