1984 Atarisoft (UK)
This was one hell of a game in the arcades. One of the best I've played .
When I heard Moon Alert was released in the Speccy I begged mom and dad for some money to buy it.
Moon Alert wasn't as pretty looking as the arcade version, it had a different layout and different looking aliens and overall graphics but it was still the same game, and gameplay was quite competent so it rapidly became one of my most played games.
A few years later I got a copy of the Spectrum licenced Moon Patrol version (don't ask me how, I can't remember). What I can say is that I was blown away when the game started. It looked so similar to the original I've played in the arcades.
Nonetheless, a minute later... I felt something was wrong. Like I was being cheated. Then the clouds moved from my head... and I noticed:
Why is the game so slow??
Well, it felt nothing like the original. Moon Alert wasn't fast either, but at least moved in a normal pace.
I even though of buying an interface which could speed up the computer (cant remember the name of the gadget) so I could play it, but I never got past the idea, and so I stored the game and can't recall the last time I've played it...
Later someone told the game never got released, it was shelved. Copies were flying around, maybe due to the popularity of the arcades fans.
Still to this day I feel it is one of the biggest let downs in Spectrum history, a real shame, both the lack of speed of the game, and it never being released, because even slow as it is, it's still very playable and worthwhile, not to mention, faithful to the original.
