Cosmic Guerilla
| Cosmic Guerilla | |
|---|---|
.jpg) German flyer | |
| Developer(s) |
Universal Crystal Computing (ZX) |
| Platform(s) |
Arcade (original) ZX Spectrum |
| Release date(s) |
1979 Spectrum: 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Fixed shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, two player alternating |
Cosmic Guerilla is a 1979 fixed-shooter arcade game in the vein of Space Invaders. It was developed by Universal, the company that would later create Mr. Do!. A ZX Spectrum port was published by Crystal Computing in 1983.
Gameplay
Cosmic Guerilla is a two-dimensional fixed shooter game. The player takes control of a laser cannon at the bottom of the screen whose movement is limited to left and right, and must fire at the aliens above.[1] In contrast to Space Invaders the aliens are arranged in a single vertical line on each side of the screen,[2] with their movement being towards the centre, one or more at a time, in an attempt to capture and remove the player's shields.[3] The aliens cannot be hit by the player's shots until they begin to move, and the player may only fire one projectile at a time.[4] Once a row of shields has been removed, one of the player's "lives", is exposed and able to be captured.[3] Occasionally a very fast "mothership" will appear and traverse the screen just above the player dropping bombs.[4]
There are six levels of difficulty[4] along with four game modes[3] allowing combinations of the regular game, bonus enemies, and faster aliens. There is also a two player mode where players take alternative turns.[3]
Sinclair version reception
Cosmic Guerilla was invariably compared to Space Invaders, though Sinclair User described it as the "next step up", with its different scenarios and object arrangement.[2] Home Computing Weekly, Sinclair User and ZX Computing all praised the game's smooth graphics,[1][2] though HCU felt that better use could have been made of the sound.[3] The game was generally well received, and described variously as "incredibly addictive" and "very playable",[2] and "highly recommended".[1][4]
References
- 1 2 3 Cosmic Guerilla review, ZX Computing, issue August/September 1983 (p.107), Argus Specialist Publications
- 1 2 3 4 Cosmic Guerilla review, Sinclair User, issue 17 (p.32), ECC Publications, August 1983
- 1 2 3 4 5 Cosmic Guerilla review, Home Computing Weekly, issue 36 (p.17), Argus Specialist Publications, November 1983
- 1 2 3 4 Cosmic Guerilla review, CRASH, issue 1 (p.46), Newsfield Publications, February 1984