New Look At Invaders

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A fairly novel variation on the Space Invaders theme is Cosmic Kidnap by Superior Software, in which you are the Autoguard in sole charge of a space jail.

Your captives are the three most important aliens that ever existed and your aim in life is to prevent your precious guests from being rescued by their alien comrades.

The game is simple in concept. There's the normal laser base (your blaster), which you can move left and right at will, dodging between the shields. In the centre of the screen is the jail, enclosing your charges.

The aliens steal in from the edges of the screen, rapidly removing the building blocks of the jail, at the same time dropping bombs on you.

If any alien gets to a captive and manages to remove him you explode and lose a life - in addition to any you have lost by being bombed..

At regular intervals the alien mothership zips across the top of the screen. You hit it for bonus points.

My only criticism of the game is the ear-splitting shrill whistle that the ship makes as it travels across the screen. It really is oppressive, although I suppose if you got deeply involved with the game you could ignore it after a while.

On clearing a screen you are met by a new swarm of aliens intent on rescue, and in later stages additional enemies appear presenting new problems.

If you think the Space Invader genre is dead, try this one. It's an unusual version that kept my kids enthralled for hours.

Alan Sergeant