"Oh, no! It's Trevor!" But instead of retreating in horror up the screen, they continue to march down in waves, on and on... Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Many aeons ago, there was once a game called Space Invaders which changed the course of civilisation. People went mad. Those little green nasties became an international craze and even put an end to conversation in pubs all over this country.
But that was a long time ago, so why have Spectravideo cloned this age-old idea when they could have produced something really new and innovative? Admittedly, they have included some new details, but is this enough we ask ourselves?
Not content with little green meanies slowly working their way down towards death and destruction, Spectravideo have incorporated some beautiful graphics into the game - and at least the meanies are orange and blue and no longer green!
The game is set against the backdrop of a space city with your laser base in the foreground. The nasties make their way down the screen in the traditional method, showering you with dozens of bombs, each one guaranteed to break through the city's defence shields or blast you to smithereens.
You'll notice an addition to the game in level four - this is when it stops being a game and war is waged in deadly earnest. There are two types of aliens, the fairly innocuous Hobbits and the more evil-minded Sinkers.
The Hobbits behave in the usual manner, but the Sinkers uncharacteristically jump out of formation and weave and dart all over the place laying whole strings of bombs as they go. They are the ones to watch, if you want to avoid death.
If you don't manage to catch them before they reach ground level, they'll dart into the tunnel where your laser base is situated and lay a mine. Once nine mines have been laid - Boom! - the city blows up and unfortunately you with it!
Your laser base has limited up and down movement in the tunnel and you'll need to make full use of this facility to dodge the aliens as they come crawling down the tunnel towards you.
The watch towers on the outer edges of the city will start to flash when you are down to less than three laser bases - a good indication that you're nearing the end of the game.
The pretty graphics aside, Spectravideo's Spectron is really nothing to shout about and priced at around £30 it isn't quite up to the high standard of software ColecoVision owners are used to.
1st March 1984
