1st March 1984
Laserwarp
Mikrogen claim that this game has it all. It certainly has quite a lot anyway! It is a very simple shoot em up which has you in control of a laser base while every known electronic alien in the universe is falling on you, swooping at you and hurling indestructible missiles of all shapes and sizes at you. 'Paranoia' might be a more apt title!
The various aliens (depends on the level of play chosen) each have different movement characteristics and drop different types of missiles, including very mean, red-coloured heat seeking missiles which veer towards the laser base as they get lower, following slightly as it moves away. Surviving ten attack waves leaves you facing 'The Master' who sounds like a nasty piece of work. Should you destroy him, he returns stronger than ever. The universe was never an easy place...
Comments
Control keys: S/D left/right, ENTER = fire
Joystick: none
Keyboard play: responsive, but laser can only have one shot on screen at a time
Colour: varied and reasonable
Graphics: very good
Sound: good
Skill levels: 5
Lives: 3
Screens: 10 waves plus master
Comment 1
'The game works quite well as a shoot em up, and I like the idea of many aliens on screen at one time. The downward scrolling star background works nicely too, and in general the graphics are good. It has well used colours although I thought they seemed a little dull (dark).'
Comment 2
'A very busy screen, which keeps you constantly on your toes. Strong graphics and plenty of them, reasonable sound and a very lively shoot em up. Two odd/ ties though, the inlay says user-definable keys, but l couldn't find any, and the game hardly requires them anyway. Also the instructions on screen say N/L = Fire, when actually it's ENTER. Still, a very good game with a straightforward appeal.'
Comment 3
'Laserwarp is the latest and greatest shoot em up game. It's highly addictive and fun to play. This may even challenge Imagine's Arcadia as the best ever Spectrum shoot em up. Extremely good value for money if you like arcade games. Only one niggle - the laser base fires rather slowly.'
Screenshots
