Now this is a lesser know total gem of a game from Czech publisher Fuxoft. Released in 1988 this arcade style game will have passed many of us by.
I've only just got around to playing it and my trigger finger is happy once more!
If you like arcade games and especially those in the style of Konami's Nemesis (or Gradius) the this game - which was no doubt inspired by those Konami classics, will appeal to you.
The loading screen grimly informs you that there are some places in the universe where you don't go unarmed...I like their style.
The game can be played in standard ZX Spectrum 48K mode or the enhanced Spectrum 128 mode. I urge you to play it in 128 mode as the menu music and in game effects are spot on and really capture that classic arcade feel.
For those of you familiar with games such as Gradius you will be instantly at home with the weapon powerup system within the game.
As you fly your craft over the right to left scrolling landscape waves of enemies appear along with bonus tokens. Collecting the tokens moves you across the 'powerup bar' which starts with Speed Up. So selecting Speed up makes your craft... speed up.
There are lots of powerups to gather such as multifire, lazer fire etc etc. Also as usual and in standing with good old arcade game tradtition there are end of level bosses to contend with who take multiple hits to destroy.
What more can I say? The sound effects are superb (and are even pretty good in 48K mode), the scrolling smooth and the variety of bad guys is excellent.
The game does throw surprises at you too but never seems to feel unfair - you can get yourself out of a tight spot with a little fancy flying and fast reflexes. The only downside is that you seem to lose all of your powerups when you lose a life - but it does give you plenty of opportunities to power back up pretty quicky.
For anyone that likes arcade action you can't go far wrong with F.I.R.E, which stands for Fast, Ingenious and Risky Elimination by the way.
Classic arcade action on the good old ZX Spectrum:
Arcade Games and Classic Games
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