Previous Next

If you have told me back in late November that a company called Imagine had come up with an amazing new game, then my reaction would probably have been "Who?". By the time that this review is published, Imagine should be competing more than favourably with giants such as Quicksilva for the title of creators of the "ultimate game". The three wise men of Imagine, DH Lawson, Eugene Evans and Mark Butler, obviously don't believe in coming quietly onto the market - but with the advertising campaign that they have recently launched, they can only be described as having exploded onto the market!

Sometimes when you see a really amazing advert, you wonder whether the software can possibly be as good as it claims, but in this case, they may well be justified. Imagine can be quoted as saying that they have only one real aim - to be the *best*!!! At the moment they seem to be going about it in exactly the right way.

To describe accurately a game which relies on some of the best two-dimensional graphics around is far from easy, but the wording used in the advert is quite apt: "The fastest, meanest, most addictive shoot-'em-up game you've ever desired!" Arcadia, which is written totally in machine code, and will fit in both the 16K and 48K versions of the Spectrum, is, if you break it down, really a third generation invaders. The basic idea is the same in that you gain points by kiling off the aliens, but you can also blast yourself off from the bottom of the screen and then let yourself glide back down again when you release the pressure. You also have two Plasma Disruptors instead of the one meagre gun that is found in more basic versions.

The functions of the keyboard have been laid out very nicely - on the bottom row each key is either move left or right; all the keys on the second row are thrust and all the keys on the third row are fire, whilst pressing a key on the top row causes the game to "hold".

The first thing that happens is that a high-resolution picture of the Imagine logo drifts down the screen before the name Arcadia is drawn. It will then ask you to press any key to start and you are then thrust straight into the game itself. The idea of the game is to survive the particular race of aliens long enough for the counter in the top left of the screen to reach zero. This usually entails killing off just enough to keep yourself safe when the counter gets near zero and the aliens become suicidal. If you kill them all off, a new wave of the same race appears, whilst if you survive long enough a new race of aliens attacks you.

The different sets of alien are quite bizarre and amazing. They range from defender-like characters, to seagulls, to little space men, to pulsating blobs and asteroids... the list goes on. The graphics are amazingly smooth and precise, with an extensive use of colour and sound. The game has a highest score display though you can't type your own name in, which is a shame.

But remember that most of the really amazing games, such as Time-Gate, only fit into the 48K machine, whilst Arcadia will run in the 16K or 48K... a feat in itself.

Arcadia is highly addictive and very well presented, though the instructions could have been mildly improved upon. But at only £5.50, it is fantastic value for money. Imagine also offer an unconditional lifetime guarantee - if an Imagine Software product ever fails to load first time, simply return it to Imagine for an immediate free replacement. Can't say fairer than that, can you? Imagine only publicise the fact that they will normally despatch all orders by first class post within 24 hours of receipt.

Though this may not be the ultimate gate (they may be still working on it), it makes nearly all other invaders type 'shoot-'em-up' games look like mere childs' play. Arcadia must rank in the top three arcade games on the market for the Spectrum.

All I say to the arcade games fans is that Arcadia is well worth the £5.50 (I'd buy it just to watch the graphics!), and beware their next game... Schizoids. Though at the time of writing I have not seen a copy, I have been assured that we will be more than a little surprised by its contents.

Arcadia is available from Imagine Software, Mason Buildings, Exchange Street East, Liverpool, Merseyside L2 3PN.