Of course the Namco version's screen
size is completely different than the
VIC, so the programmer has made some
adjustments to the layout of the game
so it fits with the VIC's hardware.
It's possibly not until you see the
games side by side that you really
realise that the screen on the VIC is
so much different from the original.
You know something has changed but it
doesn't ruin the game. The tanks
suffer a little on rotation as they
go stubby and fat, rather than on the
arcade where they are the same no
matter what the orientation. Again,
this is a limitation of the hardware
rather than the programmer. It seems
that most of the features of the game
have been implemented, even down to
how the explosions happen, where
there is a massive bang that looks
like it would take out a whole wall
but then it all seems to clear away.
Again, this is how the arcade version
works and is mirrored on the VIC to
look and feel the same.

PLAYING THE GAME:

So this is you

You have to look after your base and
protect

Enemy tanks look like this

You see what I mean about how they
change shape with orientation

You must shoot the enemy tanks to
protect your base. If an enemy tank
hits you then its Game Over. If an
enemy hits your base again the game
is over, but kill all the enemies and
you go to the next level. It's
simplistic but that's why it's such a
great game, easy to play, frustrating
and fun.

SCORES

Graphics: 7/10
based on the conversion
Sounds: 6/10
Gameplay: 6/10
it's the speed that's killed it
Overall: 7/10
nice conversion suffering from a
lack of speed

SUMMARY

It's a great conversion and I feel
guilty for marking it down. IF the
speed could be improved it would
definitely notch the score up. I can
see the work involved in getting the
screen to fit and the whole mechanics
to work, again another excellent
conversion.

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