Thrust

Reliving my college days!

The thumping chiptune of the day is awarded to Thrust!! Let me explain... Earlier, I enjoyed a couple of plays and now must suffer the reward of having its funky music booming through my tiny mind. Yep, I just can't get it out of my head lol. Well, it's a good job then that it's one of my favourite Rob Hubbard masterpieces.

I love Thrust but I don't recall many rave magazine reviews? Probably because it didn't appear that much of a technical improvement over the 8-bit games? For me, that's good because it's perfect. Any cosmetic changes would have been a huge mistake. Remember Chuckie Egg 2, a shocking 16-bit disaster!

Thankfully, Thrust isn't like that. It's still a great game with tough mechanics and hugely addictive gameplay. I love it and so will you because it's a cracking game. It's as good today as it was back then - I should know, I spent most of my college years in the 'library' playing Thrust on a BBC Micro instead of studying!

It looks funky, sounds boomtastic and plays great so is a timeless classic for the Atari ST. Love it!!

D-Bug has a version of Thrust that you can install onto a hard drive/ultrasatan.

Those that need the floppy disk can check out Old Games Finder.

SNDH Record is the place if you fancy driving yourself crazy with this gorgeous chiptune?

Masochists can download it to play later, courtesy of the SNDH Archive. All good fun :-)

Wreckers

It's time once again to save... the ship!

Wreckers is an isometric adventure released in 1991 by Audiogenic. It's the only game I own by them and was developed by Denton Designs. Those old enough to live through the 80s using 8-bit computers will remember them for games like Gift From The Gods. Ignoring Bandersnatch/Brataccas... ugh... from me, it's The Great Escape which I feel is one of the best 8-bit games ever. Yep, I said that.

Anyhow, enough trivia! For Wreckers, we're onboard the interestingly named space station, Beacon 04523N, in the loneliest part of deep space. With a crew of three, held in cryogenic stasis, automated robots look after the day-to-day care and maintenance of the station. However, the computer has decided to wake you when it detects the threat of Plasmodians, a lifeform that wants to frantically consume the ship and everything in it.

Okay, let's take a little break for an animated GIF of this wonderful game...

Let's play

In some respects, I'm reminded of the brilliant Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters but there is far more to this game than simply running around shooting green blobs of plasma, albeit great fun! From the very start, you discover that the alien attack is happening and, once they make physical contact with the outer hull, it's only a matter of time before they begin creating havoc with the computer's systems.

The station has its defence capabilities in the form of a space hoover that sucks up the aliens before they get on board. The droids can be controlled to help, and another option is to suit up and head outside to play Jetman with a can of bug spray. Beacon 04523N is hardly Babylon 5 but at least these options are available. Oh, do remember to use the Zippway Shuttles and elevators to travel the Beacon. Don't dawdle because the main computer has decided one hour is enough to eradicate the threat before self-destruct is activated!!

Control is handled via keyboard and joystick but the latter might disappoint because I actually found myself holding it sideways. This usually works but some might find it weird! Also, the user interface will take time to get to grips with, I found it quite unusual and sometimes a little clumsy in the heat of the moment.

Let's now take another break for a screenshot of three dodgy fellas...

My Opinion

Graphically, I love the 80s feel and, whilst it doesn't look very 1991, it uses a retro charm I appreciate. Scrolling is adequate but I sure love the station's attention to detail, along with the colourful sprites. The title music is just awesome and the box loves to gloat about who made it, Warren Cann of Ultravox!

Wreckers will certainly keep you on your toes; it requires an urgent attitude with the ability to juggle tasks and think ahead while suffering a constant onslaught. Running around zapping aliens is one aspect of the game but, because there is so much going on, it's sometimes extremely hard to keep up with the situation. Don't get me wrong, Wreckers is a very good game but one that requires a lot of time, patience, and commitment.

Have you got the requirements? If so, brace yourself for an incredible adventure!!

* Floppies can be found via Old Games Finder with a hard disk version by 8BitChip.

* Hall Of Light has a superb map of the space station which sure comes in handy!!