Designed and programmed by Stavros Fasoulas in 1987, Delta is a classic side-scrolling shooter with spaceships, sprites, and fast, furious action.

And: like Fasoulas‘s previous game, Sanxion, it’s also immensely challenging.

You fly a ship in the ‘space police’ (also known as Delta Patrol), and must blast and dodge your way through 32 tortuous levels to…I dunno, save the universe or something.

You blast oncoming enemy formations and pickup the power-ups they drop to advance your on-board weaponry. You can increase your rate of fire, speed up, increase the number of bullets fired, activate multiple shots, and more.

You must beware, however, of deactivated power-ups. These look like normal power-ups but are grey and will kill you if you fly into them.

Delta is beautifully presented with impressive bas relief graphics, smooth scrolling, and loads of on-screen sprites. The programmer also figured out how to put objects (scores, lives, and weapons icons) in the C64 border area, which is technically impressive and makes the game feel ‘bigger’.

Delta is also known for its music, which was produced by Rob Hubbard. Some versions have a “Mix-e-Load” piece while the game loads, which allows you to change the music in real time using a joystick.

A Commodore 64 shooter classic from Thalamus – one that is still worth playing today.

More: Delta on Wikipedia
More: Delta on c64-wiki.com