Ross: The Federation of Space Research has just found a new solar system called Cygnus Major and they want it explored for mineral resources.

When you arrive you find that the space invaders don't like having their space invaded and are hell bent on your destruction. The only way for you to swot the insect-like creatures is to use your anti-matter plasma gun.

This game is in fact very loosely based on the arcade favourite Galaga and is a 2nd generation Galaxians. This version does not have all the features of the original but is never-the-less a reasonable shoot'em up and will keep your trigger finger in good shape. The aliens swoop onto screen, do a few twirls and pirouettes, dropping bombs as they go, then fall into formation. This continues until the screen is fairly full up with them, at which point they begin to drive down on individual kamikaze style bomb runs. Once you have cleared the skies the inevitable happens. Yes, they all come back but are just that bit meaner.

Nothing new again but O.K... 3/5 MISS

Roger: There are no flies on me but the same cannot be said for this dose of futuristic insecticide... 1/5 MISS

Dave: The shoot'em up is alive and kicking. Fast, frantic, colourful and noisy - just the thing for an evening of mindless slaughter. 1/5 HIT

PRICE: £5.50
GAME TYPE: Invaders

Why write a shoot-'em-up invader game in 1985? If you feel there is a good reason, and that this is the type of program for which the public are clamouring, then answer me this. Why write an invader game which is not compatible with the Kempston joystick?

Halaga is perhaps best described in its own words: "The game consists of four high-res screens moving left and right, you must evade the alien missiles and attempt to clear the sky of aliens." Have we not heard this somewhere before? Do we want to hear it again?

The aliens swoop onto the screen, firing at your base at the foot of the screen. When all the aliens have swept onto the screen, they relax, and hang in the air, moving jerkily a few millimetres to left or right. Unfortunately, in so doing, they partially erase their neighbours, which produces an interesting pattern, although not a very realistic effect.

Once you have destroyed all these rather unintelligent creatures, another attack wave air pears, in a different formation, but moving and attacking along very similar lines.

For some reason, although you inhabit one screen, from the sides of which you cannot escape, the aliens inhabit a wraparound screen world, and they are able to leave the left of the screen to appear on the right, or vice versa.

Halaga is produced for the 48K Spectrum by Interceptor Micros, Lindon House, The Green, Tadley, Hampshire.

ZX Spectrum
£5.50
Zalaga clone
Interceptor

If you've never played Galaqa in a bikers' roadhouse in Winnipeg, you've probably had the opportunity to play Zalaga on the BBC Micro. Now you can play Halaga on the Spectrum. Have to be a bit careful about which keys you press - this one shows a tendency to lock up. If you can keep it going, this is a great traditional shoot-'em-up.

£5.95
Interceptor Software

Sent to Cygnus Major for mineral resources by the Federation of Space Research, you run into a hostile alien reception. Only your skill with the anti-matter plasma gun will save you.

This is an average shoot 'em up space game which you can play with most of the joystick options available. The aliens zoom onto the screen in set patterns, take up their positions while the next squadron enters, and finally, when they are all in place, make bombing runs on your spaceship. As they enter and attack they send down a stream of missiles.

Simply by dodging back and forward and firing continuously I got through the first few sheets, (there are four screens to a sheet), before the speed of the attackers increased to such a rate that I couldn't survive. One thing I found interesting was the style of presentation and movement, this reminded me very much of the Demo screens of Oasis' White Lightning program. I suspect that this was written using it and would be interested to know if this is the case. If so then it is one of the first commercial quality programs I have seen produced by a "games writer" utility.

Although not particularly inspired or inspiring there is not a lot wrong with this game, the graphics are good, movement is smooth and it is enjoyable to play. I suppose that it lacks sophistication when compared to other programs. I played it for over an hour but have not really experienced a desire to have another go.

Interceptor Software, Lindon House, The Green, Tadley, Hants.