An early Sega Master System released in 1986, Astro Warrior is another in a long line of old-school space shooters that have very basic controls, very basic gameplay, and tends to be not all that interesting in the long run. And while I tend to frown on these games from a reviewing standpoint, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any fun with them. After all, most people will recall that games such as Space Invaders or Galaga were fairly barebones shooters and yet they were still fun. However, those games were released in arcades in the late-1970s or early-1980s and were considered trendsetters for what they established in the gaming world back in those days. Astro Warrior was released much later during a time when more sophisticated shooters were on the rise, both in arcades and home consoles.
Astro Warrior has you in the role of a space pilot who must deal with the evil alien forces trying to take over the universe or something. Much like most basic shooters, you move your ship with the directional pad and shoot with one of the two fire buttons. You’ll collect power-ups that will boost your speed as well as your firepower, including tri-shots, laser beams, and Gradius-style multiples that increase your firepower. As per the case with most shooters, at the end of each level, you’ll face a boss and must defeat him to move on to the next level.
For the most part, Astro Warrior pretty much nails the basic essentials of a SHMUP and a video game in general. The controls are pretty responsive, simple to understand, and easy to learn without reading any manuals or FAQs. The graphics are a nice piece of work and while they may seem generic (and they are), they are actually a bit more detailed, colorful, and the scrolling is somewhat smoother than what you’d find on the NES during those days. The sound quality is a little lacking, but I like the tunes in this game, so it’s not terrible.
The game only has three levels altogether and once you beat the final level, you repeat back to the first, this time with the difficulty increased somewhat. This is one of those shooters where you really need to collect as many power-ups as possible and pray that you don’t die later on, because the game can get plenty tough if you’re careless. Once you memorize patterns, it doesn’t seem all that harder, but the challenge is still there.
Overall, Astro Warrior is a fairly decent game that will entertain a few people that want a quick gaming fix. The more hardcore SHMUP fans among you might look past this game due to its simplicity and short length, but I would recommend giving this game a try.
BREAKDOWN
Graphics: 7/10 (generic looking, but still rather nice)
Sound: 6/10 (good tunes, but crummy sound)
Gameplay: 7/10 (controls functional, fairly basic gameplay – short variety)
Challenge: 8/10 (usual shooter difficulty – only three levels and they loop)
Replay Value: 4/10 (not much to hold you over – but still fun unless you have better games)
OVERALL: 7/10
dtm666 