Laser Hawk

Reviewed by Jim Short

 

Issue 26

Mar/Apr 87

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Red Rat

£9.95 disk

£7.95 cassette

1/2 players

1/2 joysticks

 

 

 

 


Forget modern software trends. Everybody knows it's hard to beat a good old-fashioned space blaster. When all else fails give the punters what they really want - another 'zap those nasty bug-eyed critters into space dust' games.

 

LASER HAWK is a jazzed-up version of Scramble - no caverns though, just continuous left to right scrolling across an open-air alien landscape. You take on the role of the famed Mercenary, Jim din'Alt, who has been recruited to destroy the 5 command headquarters of the evil Proc Irata, which just happens to spell 'Atari Corp' backwards. Naturally, these are heavily guarded by the obligatory defence systems, comprising of air cannons, robotships, volcanic eruptions, missile launchers, meteorites, homing missiles, laser-beams and the like. Not that a few paltry defenses will hamper a man (sorry ladies but Jim is definitely a man's name - I hope!) of your capabilities. Besides, the headquarters are codenamed BEEB, COMM, APP, AMS and SIN and come in the shape of the applicable computer symbols. If that doesn't give you the incentive to bomb the living daylights out of them then nothing will!!


I'm tempted to label this game as a poor-man's BETA LYRAE as it bears more than just a passing resemblance to the Datamost game. Beta Lyrae is the ultimate computer Scramble and LASER HAWK can't really hope to compete, but it is a reasonably good alternative. What it lacks in fancy frills and refinement it makes up for in playability not to mention barefaced cheek! Bombing Commodore and Spectrum symbols? .... I like it, I like it!!


Worth the effort this one. Make sure you check it out.

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