C&VG


Thrust
By Superior
BBC/Electron

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #59

Thrust

Thrust received rave reviews when it first appeared for the Commodore 64, and it's easy to see why. This game has class, and it's lost nothing in its move to the BBC.

It's a real pleasure to find a space arcade game that's not just another whizz-bang shoot-'em-up, all reflexes and precious little brain. The story behind the game is simple. You must visit 24 planets in turn, picking up Klystron pods via your tractor beam, and if possible destroying the planet's reactor in the process.

But never mind the storyline, what grips is the graphics. Your spaceship drifts above the planet, pulled every which way by the forces of g*ravity, inertia and momentum gravity. You control it by rotating right, left and a touch of thrust. This is ballet in the air. You must manoeuvre your apparently weightless craft out of the way of hostile fire, pick up fuel and the all-important pods - which are, to make things awkward, heavier than the ship - then hightail it for the cosmos and the next planet.

It's difficult to explain the sheer addictive pull of this game. The graphics might be smooth, with very superior movement, but they're not spectacular to look at. It's all in the sheer skill and delicacy that's needed to pilot that spaceship. Try it.