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[VIDEO GAME
FAVORITES]
=>AMIGA =>ATARI
=>COMMODORE =>NINTENDO
=>PLAYSTATION =>SEGA
=>SNK =>TURBO =>XBOX |
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SUPER
ASTEROIDS/SUPER MISSILE COMMAND
BY: ATARI
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::RATING::
Graphics: 4
Sound: 3
Control: 5
Depth: 4
Overall: 5
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This is more of a public service than a review, since
Atari's Super Asteroids/Super Missile Command game
for the Lynx system has been one of my favorites ever
since I bought it when it was first released. It doesn't
hurt that these games have traditionally been among my
favorites, but here they receive an update respectful
of their past and well designed for their new platform.
When you first power up the game, you can a static intro
screen, followed briefly by the Super Missile Command
title screen. Click the joypad left to switch to the Super
Asteroids title, right to go back to Missile Command.
Both have scrolling credits and a nice musical fugue playing
in the background.
Let the credits finish, and a demo screen will run showing
scoring and game play. You can also switch back and forth
between the title and demo with the up and down direction
on the joypad.
You don't really get any options for play, just the two
games. But both games are excellent, full of challenges,
power-ups and pitfalls.
Asteroids is the more interesting adaptation of
the two. The first question you should be asking yourself
is "how does Asteroids work on the small screen?"
Very well, actually. There aren't too many asteroids,
particularly in the early level, but the screen can get
pretty full in short order in the more advanced level.
What really makes the difference is the automatic shields.
Your shields have a certain amount of energy when you
start, that gets depleted as you collide with asteroids,
aliens and alien fire. Shields are replenished by power
ups. This basically gives you a fighting chance on the
small screen.
Other power-ups help keep the game interesting. You can
get enhanced shields, weapons and speed. The number of
power-ups you get remain consistent through the game,
which makes for more difficult play as the obstacles become
more numerous, and the alien ships get more aggressive.
Difficulty is measured in levels and waves, and this also
provides a measure of your progress apart from the score.
Graphically this game looks nice. The asteroids are flat,
but the explosions are pretty good. The static background
is nice but a bit dull after awhile. The controls are
excellent and responsive, and the sound pretty much tracks
what's on the screen. Sounds for low shield warning and
the appearance of new power-ups are helpful.
Missile Command is not such a stretch for a port,
but the game's designers provide us with a nice update.
A more aggressive alien "Blaster" replaces the smart bomb,
and a devastating "Saucer" is new to the mix.
Even better is a money system that lets you earn power
ups. At the end of each round you get money as well as
bonus points for remaining missiles and cities. You'll
need this money to buy power-ups, since this game gets
very difficult.
There are two pages of power-ups, representing two basic
categories. The first page offers different types of missiles
for your arsenal. You can only have one type of missile
at a time, and better missiles cost at the upgrade screen.
My favorite are the "Laser launched", and I'm not at all
a big fan of "Experimental" (although I'll leave it to
the reader to see exactly what that is).
The second page contains special weapons. Like the missile
type, you can only have one kind of special weapon. Unlike
the missile type, the price for each special weapon is
for each use, so if you want shields, for instance, you
have to pay 50 credits for each shield you'd want to use
in the next four rounds. At the end of the level, you
lose any special weapons that aren't used. These special
weapons are deployed with the 'B' button, whereas regular
missiles are fired with the 'A' button. As to the nature
of the special weapons, I'll leave that to you to discover,
but they are a blast to use.
Plan your power-ups purchases carefully, since you only
get a chance to buy them at new levels, every four rounds.
At the harder levels, you'll need extra missiles, and
you'll use the special power-ups quickly.
Graphically Super Missile Command is more impressive
than Super Asteroids. The ground, cities and missile
bases have a nice look to them, as do the various enemy
objects. ICBMs get nice color gradations, and the explosions
of some of the powered-up missiles are nice effects. The
sounds are still unexciting, pretty well mirroring the
sounds in the original arcade game.
A few tips for play.. In Missile Command, you really
want to try to conserve your missiles, in case they're
needed in a particularly nasty onslaught, and also to
get credits to buy power-ups. Also, since you don't have
a trackball and the cursor moves a little slow, you want
to plan your missile shots to require the shortest, most
efficient cursor moves. When you upgrade your missiles
at the power-up screen, be prepared to get used to the
new speed and explosion size of the new missiles for the
first couple of shots in the next round.
For Asteroids, the best help I can offer is to
keep the ship moving slow. If you move too fast, you can
wind up out of control, ricocheting off asteroids and
depleting your shields in short order. I can't really
think of anything I'd add to this game. It would be cool
if high scores could be maintained with the power off,
but I'm afraid the only Lynx cartridge to do that is SIMIS.
I don't really miss having any starting options, and I
don't see how this could benefit from a Comlynx mode.
As it is, this has been, and still is, one of the most
played of all my portable games for any system, hence
the 5 rating, buy it now!
- Eric Ruck
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2008 ben langberg, all rights reserved.