Tag Archives: space

Metroid Prime, GameCube

The fifth game in Nintendo‘s famous “Metroid” series, and the first to use 3D graphics, Metroid Prime follows the well-worn gameplay path of the earlier Metroid games (that is: have all your equipment; lose all your equipment; have to find all your equipment again) and again sees you playing as Samus Aran, a female ex-soldier with a powered exoskeleton.

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Asteroids, Arcade

Released in November 1979, Atari‘s Asteroids was an instant hit with gamers.

It featured a vector graphic-based, black and white display, with a player-controlled triangular ship, moving in space and firing at moving rocks.

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Nemesis/Gradius, Arcade

Known as Gradius in Japan – but Nemesis everywhere else – Konami‘s classic 1985 shoot ’em up is one of the earliest progressive weapons blasters, with distinct levels and boss battles.

The game is somewhat reminiscent of the classic side-scrolling Scramble (also by Konami), but in Nemesis you fly a ship called the “Vic Viper”, and which has a variety of different weapons which can be powered-up by collecting capsules left by destroyed enemies.

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Paradroid ’90, Amiga

Mmmm. Paradroid ’90 is one of those “classic” games that should have been great, but unfortunately was a big, fat missed opportunity.

Its parent – the Commodore 64 classic Paradroid, by Andrew Braybrook – is a perfect example of simple-but-amazingly-compelling gameplay.

This remake pretty much loses everything that made the original great, in spite of original author Braybrook‘s involvement.

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Jet Pac, ZX Spectrum

Ultimate Play The Game‘s amazing Jet Pac is an early ZX Spectrum classic, first released onto an unsuspecting world in 1983.

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Mercenary III: The Dion Crisis, Atari ST

Paul Woakes‘ third game in the Mercenary series (after Damocles) retains all the flying, exploration and puzzling of the first two games, but also allows you to fly off planet, and visit other places in the Gamma System.

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Damocles: Mercenary II, Atari ST

Developer Paul Woakes takes the Mercenary series much further in Damocles (1990) – the second game in the series.

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Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom, Arcade

Sega‘s Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom was first released into arcades in 1982, and – to play it now – you’d wonder what all the fuss was about, but this game made waves when it was first released.

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