Monday, June 9, 2014

#0010 Lunar Lander

Okay! It’s been a couple weeks but I’m finally back on my quest! Today I played Lunar Lander, probably one of the first flight simulators by the juggernaut that Atari is seeming to become. In this game you play as an Apollo Lunar Module attempting to land on the surface of a ridiculously mountainous and jagged moon. (And considering how porous and craterous the moon can be, I don’t think it’s that farfetched.) You start off falling from the sky and must adjust your trajectory by turning your craft in the air and using your thrusters, while also conserving rapidly depleting fuel to maneuver and then eventually slow down enough to land on a flat surface of the moon. Come in too fast? Explode. Land on a hill? Explode. The narrower the surface, the more points you receive.

OMG I HATE THIS FRICKIN’ GAME! Don’t get me wrong, I can respect it for what it is. The physics feel tight, and surprisingly realistic. The attention to detail is astounding listing your fuel, altitude, even your vertical and horizontal speeds. While it isn’t Galaxian in terms of graphics, the vector graphics are still crisp and detailed, and everything is very clear. But it’s just so frickin’ HARD! And believe me, I know hard games, I’ve beaten Castlevania 3, I played through a good amount of Demon’s Souls, and even Battle Toads. But this game… Wow… If you land just a TINY bit too fast, or have just one leg land on a gentle slope? Explode. I kid you not, I was going so slow that a butterfly landed on my craft to sit and rest for a while before spreading it’s wings and flying off again. But as soon as I touched the ground my craft exploded into a huge fiery ball that was visible from earth. I’m sure my Mother cried when she saw it live on the news.

Seriously though. Not bad. I don’t think I’ll be playing it again soon, but overall, at least it was better than Asteroids in my opinion.
And that finishes up the 70’s! All you 80’s Kids can eat your hears out because from here until Wonderboy III: The Dragon’s Trap, all the games I list will have been made in the 80’s!

Up next! Battle Zone

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