1st February 1986
Classic Gauntlet
For the few readers who haven't played any of the several implementations of Defender (of which this game is a type) the scenario is the surface of a planetoid. Aimlessly wandering this barren land are a number of examples of a curious lifeform. The continuing existence of the 'cannisters', as the lifeforms are called in this version of the game, is your ultimate objective.
But beware! The cannisters are under constant threat from the 'landers' which descend from the skies in large numbers. Should a lander manage to carry a cannister to the top of the screen, the unfortunate lifeform will mutate. Hindering your task are a variety of alien craft which lay bombs, explode into showers of other nasties and in general do all of the things one would rather they didn't.
Gauntlet doesn't contain any dazzling new features missing from the arcade original, and as such may only appeal to the purists among the game-playing population. However, a sound, fault-free version of a classic is always preferable to a bug-infested original.
Some nice touches include a demonstration mode and a protected BREAK key. Even performing a hard reset will merely return you to the start of the game.
The conclusion? Well, there's nothing new here, but Micro Power has brought us a very competent implementation of one of the most popular arcade games. If you're happy with a classic, then I would recommend Gauntlet.
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