Skim the landscape & shoot everything
P-47 was released in 1988 by Firebird and is based on the Jaleco arcade game. There are several levels through a variety of landscapes, so put on your Biggles outfit because you're about to reach for the skies.
Any shoot 'em up needs decent scrolling, awesome controls, and enemies to kill. P-47 has this by the bucketload. It's immediately obvious that the teamwork that went into development has certainly paid off. Choose either a 50/60Hz display with smooth parallax scrolling, great graphics throughout, and fast sprites that honour the original. Funky chipmusic plays alongside the pizazz sound effects, both of which are great.
The action is hectic as the planes whizz into view and tanks blast artillery - they're just asking for a MOAB!! Other levels have us flying through sunset clouds, pyramids, and over the seas (I love the missiles, which emerge from underwater). Oddly, the bosses are easy to defeat by positioning in a safe place and repeatedly dropping a payload of bombs. Each level varies, but the concept remains: fly, avoid, panic, and kill everything.
Where P-47 fails is the frustratingly great difficulty - the screen will always be cluttered with many baddies, and a collision is inevitable. Stick with it; collect the power-ups, learn the enemy's attack pattern, and keep on firing. Sure, this is imperfect, but it's also one I really enjoy and a darn challenging shoot 'em up.
- Atari Legend has the floppies, and I recommend New Order #20 Menu CD.
- Hard drive installable versions are available by both 8BitChip and D-Bug.
- Enter "ZEBEDEE" into the high score:
- Press F1 for a level skip
- press F2 for infinite lives. Have fun!!
