Commodore User


Quadrant

Publisher: Romik
Machine: Commodore Vic 20

 
Published in Commodore User #6

Quadrant

A zap-the-aliens game with a difference - and what a difference! Earth station Syniac is mined for its reserves of precious ore but latterly it has become the testing grounds of the Arcturan Macrobats and their new Trak-Bombs. Life is therefore difficult for the miners: and you (alias Boris the Galactic Hero) must patrol Synlac's four quadrants, jumping craters and zapping the Macrobats as you go.

Boris takes the form of a little running/jumping/shooting man against a moving planetary surface. It is here that this game is so good; foreground, midground and background move across the screen at different speeds whilst the Macrobats manifest themselves as twirling wire-frame cubes. So what? Well, this clever use of parallax motion and the Necker Cube illusion create an impression of perspective and depth which I found fascinating. Not the three dimensions that Romik claims; but who wants to split hairs? I love it!

To be truthful, there isn't all that much variety in the game; rum, jump, shoot, that's all. But it is incredibly engrossing to play. Although I haven't seen any of the true stereoscopic games now out for the Vic I suspect that Romik's use of these simple preceptual tricks may prove more effective than the route taken by companies such as Postern. Now, Romik, how about a 16K version with a bit more variety in the play?