It was the first vertical scrolling game that I ever found captivating. Whether or not there was a storyline or a princess to save is still a mystery to me. Nevertheless, my space jet was everything, and I wanted every upgrade possible to take my enemies down.
Astro Warrior for Sega Master System – awesome game. My favorite part was both the music and the sound effects. I remember whenever you blasted those little squares, damaging the body of the evil mother ship in the first stage, the sound effect was so gratifying – it equaled points, and points back then were like trophies and badges now! Also, those purple orbs that traveled in groups to kill you always gave me a craving for Planters Cheese Balls…
Probably the one thing I always wanted within this game was the Laser with the maxed out extension guns. Those Lasers spelled doom, and those extra extensions let you just position yourself at the bottom of the screen and bulldoze through the enemy. I always did wonder, though, how those purple extensions were able to kill evil ships all on their own without firing a bullet. Weird.
The formula still holds true. How many games are out there on little handheld devices where you are a jet, and you want the Laser, and you want the upgrades, and you want to kill yourself when you die because you’re back to your little itty-bitty gun. Gripes.
The gamer below is one of many who wanted nothing to do with the Laser. Screw ’em. Lasers rule!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCIcWvkUeLE&w=425&h=349]
