C&VG


City Attak

Publisher: K-Tel
Machine: Commodore 64

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #32

City Attak

You may be forgiven for thinking that Space Invaders was dead and buried under piles of alien corpses. But you were wrong! The invaders are back - and twice as mean - on the Commodore 64.

K-tel's latest release for this increasingly popular micro is called City Attak and combines the challenge of that old favourite with a few nice twists.

You control a city defence ship patrolling the skies above a city - depicted in nicely drawn graphics. The cityscape scrolls along beneath you and all is peaceful until the aliens appear!

City Attak

Two rows of the little nasties are on the move toward your base back in the city centre. Can you stop them before they reach Mission Control and destroy it?

Wave after wave of the aliens come at you so it's one of those games you can never win - but enjoyable despite that!

The twists I was talking about come in the form of Urban Commandos who race along the city streets intent on invading Mission Control. You can stop them by hovering overhead and dropping bombs on them as they run - an extremely satisfying pastime if you manage to take out an entire troop.

City Attak

Another twists which is not quite so easily dealt with is the nasty Neutron Mass which rolls along at ground level guided by a small red fireball. This can only be destroyed by a direct hit to the centre from above. Not as difficult as it sounds - but the earlier you hit the mass and the more times you manage this feat, the greater your score.

If you miss the mass and allow it to reach your base - well, there's not much left of it afterwards.

The game is very playable - but I'm not sure about its lasting appeal to the seasoned victims of many alien assualts. Having said that, it you are the proud owner of a C64 and want an invader-type game, then you could do worse than shell out £6.95 for City Attak from K-tel.