Developed by Cyberdyne Systems and published by Thalamus in 1988. Follow me on Twitter:
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Armalyte happens to be another game that I never had the opportunity to own on my real Commodore 64, but I remember reading the reviews and saw that it was widely acclaimed as one of the best shoot 'em ups on the system. Having played it, I can see that such lofty praise was well deserved, even by today's standards. Armalyte is probably one of the most polished games that the C64 had. It's a real technical tour de force, possessing amazing graphics, sprite animation, decent sound effects and great scrolling. The game has 8 massive levels absolutely rammed full of enemies, bosses and mini-bosses. The artwork for each level is varied and possesses a bio-mechanical feel, similar to R-Type. The game continues to borrow from Irem's R-Type series by giving you an orbiting companion ship that has it's own weapons and can be used to block incoming enemy projectiles (although it can't block everything; enemy beam weapons still pass through it). Unlike R-Type, it cannot be projected forward to the rear/front of your main ship, but can can be moved in accordance with the movement of your own ship. There is a neat power-up system that requires you to shoot the capsules to get them to change into your desired power-up. There are several upgrades you can acquire, including rear and sideways firing lasers, plus an improved scatter cannon for the drone that orbits around your ship. If you pick up a power-up that you already own then you are granted a brief period of invincibility instead; this can be used o fly through enemies and scenery without harm. Power-ups do not carry over between levels, so you have to be quick to grab them whenever they appear at the start of the level. Your ship is equipped with a special weapon that allows you to charge up a special laser beam by holding down the fire button. The beam passes through scenery, so can be useful in destroying enemies on the other side of objects. The beam needs to recharge between uses, so you have to be careful about when to use it. I had trouble discerning my main ship from the side-ship with all the chaos going on; after a while you become for focused and it becomes less of a problem. The game is extremely tough, but that gives it plenty of replay value; with 8 levels to play through, you've got a real mountain to climb! Of course, the game also featured full simultaneous co-op play, so a friend can leap in and help you out. Martin Walker wrote some great music for the title screen and intro menu and I was disappointed that there wasn't more music in-game; the sound is good, but some more Martin Walker goodness would have been even better! So there you have it, one of the best shooters on the system. Remember to pack a towel so you can wipe down your sweaty palms after playing! #retrogaming
