The old school shooter is back. This time it is re-born on the Atari 2600 with flare from Ebivision. Yes, those same guys that brought us the cute and loveable characters like Alfred and Pesco. This time around, there is no love lost as it is all out war in classic style. AQ most endearing qualities are born from an old
school perspective and that may just be one of the most frustrating aspects of the game to veteran gamers. Like other Ebivision games, the average gamer will find the game real challenge.
The premise of the game is your classic "death from above". Yes, you move your ship back and forth shooting the nasties as they descend upon you. So what is new here? For starters, your ship doesn't really move, it is stationary, instead, you are moving the playfield back and forth, similar fashion to Atari's Night Driver. As in Night Driver the effect comes of really good. Igor Brazila did a nice job of adding a star field background that scrolls by and good enemy AI. The graphics are very well done, from the title screen to the unique bad dudes that are different throughout 8 waves which make up a round. Very impressive considering it was all done using 4K of program space. The limited CGE 2001 edition came in a nice box with nifty graphics.
From the onset, gamers will get hooked as the first few waves of nasties are easily defeated as the enemy AI Enemy movement is somewhat predictable, but it gets progressively harder. Most folks will clear round one after a few games and it may not seem like much, but the first time you reach the third round you'll understand why you once wore diapers and now that you are a grown man you'll really have to concentrate and hone your reflexes.
In any event to sum it all up, this is a classic gamer’s game. If you are easily frustrated, especially by the classic shooter genre of repetitive gameplay, this could be the one thing that may keep you from getting it. Personally, I highly recommend this game. Yes, it is a shooter, but it is unique from anything seen on the 2600 before and the graphics are far above average with challenging game play. I like to say that this game is only as good as the players playing it. There has yet to be an Ebivision game that is easily mastered. These guys put some really good thought into their products
