s computer game companies vie to produce the fastest 3-D engine, the smartest realtime combat simulator or the most photorealistic world, Apogee has (temporarily) opted out of the rat race to create a game with '80s arcade sensibilities: a good old 2-D side-scrolling spaceship blast-em-up.
War is brewing in the Andromeda galaxy, and the vile Zile are preparing a fleet to strike down innocent Ytima. In an attempt to nip this invasion in the bud, the Ytimians send one small but heavily armed Stargunner to raid the Zile bases and destroy their forces before they can launch. Players fly the Stargunner on this assault. Sliding up, down, left or right, the Stargunner must exterminate wave upon wave of Zile ships, as well as turrets, grabby pincers, walls and other obstacles. Along the way players can pick up PowerUps: shield boosters, extra lives, nukes, and the all powerful but fleeting Invincible.
Destroyed Ziles (Zillions?) spit out crystals which can be collected and traded in for Credits. Credits allow Stargunners to buy better equipment between missions. There is a host of increasingly powerful weapons to choose from, as well as defensive satellites, better engines, and bombs, bombs, bombs.
Early '80s plot, late '90s tech
Simply put, this game is a blast. The situation may sound formulaic, but in Super VGA it's pure eye candy. The beautifully drawn Zile ships, some of which morph pleasingly, shoot weird and wonderful ammo and explode in a shower of shrapnel. As the Stargunner gains power, its cannon becomes a firehose of destruction, vaporizing everything in its path. Or almost everything, because the ships, asteroids, missiles and turrets keep coming in thicker and thicker hordes. The bosses exhibit plenty of variety and are usually a good challenge.
Best of all is the inter-mission shopping spree, which allows players to adapt the Stargunner's configuration to suit particular levels and bosses. This creates enormous replay potential because it's so fun to retry the same mission with different weapons.
The only fault with Stargunner is that there are no multiplayer capabilities. In such a rollicking game, it would have been fun to have at least a 2-player mode where players can take turns (like at an arcade) and compare scores in the end. Simultaneous piloting would be even better, because even though the two players would fight on the same side, they would still compete for crystals and PowerUps. Well, one game can't have everything. Stargunner is neither highbrow nor an andrenalized frag fest, but it's gorgeous, lively and fun.
