| Sanxion | |
|---|---|
 C64 cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Thalamus |
| Publisher(s) | Thalamus |
| Designer(s) | Stavros Fasoulas |
| Composer(s) | Rob Hubbard |
| Platform(s) | Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1986: C64 1989: Spectrum |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Sanxion is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Stavros Fasoulas for the Commodore 64 and published in 1986 by Thalamus Ltd. It was the first game released by Thalamus. A ZX Spectrum port followed in 1989. Fasoulas also wrote Delta and Quedex .
 |
Sanxion is a horizontally scrolling shooter. The goal to traverse each level from left to right avoiding or destroying any enemies and obstacles. The scrolling speed is controllable, increasing the closer the player is to the center of the screen. The screen is divided in two sections, the upper one with an overhead view, and the lower one, taking up two-thirds of the screen, shows a typical side view. Enemies can come from both sides of the screen in close formations that the player must avoid colliding with. [1]
While the scrolling is automatic for the most part, the player can control the speed of the engines (there is even a bonus timer that counts down, as an incentive for those who want to "blast through"), [2] and the pitch of the noise alters accordingly, while sounding vaguely like a didgeridoo. This "adjustable rate autoscroll" is uncommon in the genre ( Armed Police Unit Gallop is another example of this). There are a few exceptions, though. Several levels end with sections where the ship is forced to fly at maximum speed (a two-note siren will sound at the beginning of such sections), where the player must be quick to avoid oncoming barriers.
There are two main types of levels in Sanxion, based on the enemies. In some, such as the first, the enemies are constant throughout the level. In some others, such as the second, reaching a certain point (usually change of terrain) will cause all enemies on screen to self-destruct, and a different type of enemy will appear. There are exceptions to these patterns.
At the end of each level, there are non-lethal bonus stages which award points to the player for shooting, crashing or avoiding floating letters (the action required depends on the actual letter) at great speed. The background in these stages is a rainbow, [3] and the "radar" does not show your ship.
Sanxion was ported externally to the ZX Spectrum by Softstorm Developments and published in 1989 with the subtitle the Spectrum Remix [4] in both 48k and 128k versions. This port has noticeable gameplay differences, e.g. the scrolling speed is fixed. The music score features renditions of the two main themes [5] arranged by Wally Beben.
A port was planned by Thalamus Interactive in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance, with updated graphics and new features, like two-player mode and end-of-level bosses. A prototype without a split screen was developed, but the game was perceived too financially risky and ultimately canceled. [6]
Sanxion was the first Thalamus game to use the Cyberload loader by John Twiddy, famous for containing the string "hackers screw off and die". [7] Computer Gaming World noted the presence of the fastloader (although not the string present) and was very thankful for its inclusion. [8]
The SID music by Rob Hubbard called "Thalamusik" was played in the Commodore 64 tape loading screen, during several minutes of slow tape load. The piece was inspired by Zoolook by Jean Michel Jarre, a piece that Hubbard also reproduced in SID form for some public domain demos. [9] It was very popular and later spawned several fan-made remixes. [10]
The menu plays a SID version of Sergei Prokofiev's "Dance of the Knights" piece from the ballet Romeo and Juliet .
The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #130 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars. [11]
Commodore User''s Mike Pattenden considered the game to be a clone of Uridium which was well executed but not really worth purchasing as an alternative to the cheaper rival Warhawk. [12]
It was voted Best Soundtrack of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. [13]
In a retrospective review Kristan Reed of Eurogamer gave the game a 7/10 rating: "Although Sanxion doesn't stand up nearly as well as Uridium does these days, it was still a real highlight of the C64's growing love-affair with shooters. If you're a twitch shooter junkie, this is a game you have to play at some stage". [14]
Skate or Die! is a skateboarding video game released by Electronic Arts (EA) in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It is EA's first internally developed game. Versions for the Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum followed. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System by Konami, published under the company's Ultra Games branding.
Rob Hubbard is a British composer best known for his musical and programming work for microcomputers of the 1980s, such as the Commodore 64.
Paradroid is a Commodore 64 computer game written by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a shoot 'em up with puzzle elements and was critically praised at release. The objective is to clear a fleet of spaceships of hostile robots by destroying them or taking them over via a mini-game. It was later remade as Paradroid 90 for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST home computers and as Paradroid 2000 for the Acorn Archimedes. There exist several fan-made remakes for modern PCs. In 2004 the Commodore 64 version was re-released as a built-in game on the C64 Direct-to-TV, and in 2008 for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe.
Wizball is a horizontally scrolling shooter written by Jon Hare and Chris Yates and released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and later in the year for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. Versions for the Amiga and Atari ST were released in the following year. Wizball was also ported to IBM PC compatibles and the Thomson MO5.
Krakout is a Breakout clone that was released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, Thomson computers and MSX platforms in 1987. One of the wave of enhanced Breakout variants to emerge in the wake of Arkanoid, its key distinctions are that gameplay is horizontal in layout, and that it allows the player to select the acceleration characteristics of the bat before playing. It was written by Andy Green and Rob Toone and published by Gremlin Graphics. The music was composed by Ben Daglish.
Thalamus Ltd was a British computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Turbo OutRun (ターボアウトラン) is a 1989 arcade racing game released by Sega. A follow-up to 1986's Out Run, it was released as a dedicated game, as well as an upgrade kit for the original Out Run board.
Uridium is a science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up originally designed by Andrew Braybrook for the Commodore 64, and later ported to other 8-bit machines. It consists of fifteen levels, each named after a metal element, with the last level being called Uridium. The manual quotes Robert Orchard, who invented the name as saying "I really thought it existed".
Shoot-'Em-Up Construction Kit is a game creation system for the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST created by Sensible Software and published by Outlaw in 1987. It allows the user to make simple shoot 'em ups by drawing sprites and backgrounds and editing attack patterns. The advertising promoted the Kit with the phrase "By the programmers of Wizball and Parallax".
Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.
Trailblazer is a racing video game developed by Mr. Chip Software and published by Gremlin Graphics for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16 and Plus/4 in 1986. It was ported to the Amiga and Atari ST.
Delta is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for the Commodore 64 by Thalamus Ltd in 1987. It was programmed by Stavros Fasoulas and the music was written by Rob Hubbard. The game was published as Delta Patrol in the United States by Electronic Arts, for its Amazing Software line, in 1987 on the Commodore 64. It was also released for the ZX Spectrum in 1990 as Delta Charge.
Badlands is a 1989 arcade video game published by Atari Games. It was ported by Domark under the Tengen label to the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game is a re-themed version of Atari's previous racing games Super Sprint and Championship Sprint with the addition of vehicular combat. Badlands is set in the aftermath of a nuclear war and races around abandoned wastelands with many hazards. Three gun-equipped cars race around a track to win prizes.
War in Middle Earth is a real-time strategy game released for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MS-DOS, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and Atari ST in 1988 by Virgin Mastertronic on the Melbourne House label.
Apex Computer Productions was the brothers John and Steve Rowlands, British based game designers and programmers on the Commodore 64 in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
World Tour Golf is a 1986 video game by Evan and Nicky Robinson, Paul Reiche III and published by Electronic Arts for Commodore 64, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and DOS.
Warhawk is a vertically scrolling shooter published in 1986 by Firebird software. It was released for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST.
GBA Championship Basketball: Two-on-Two is a 1986 computer basketball game for the PC, Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. It was developed by Dynamix and published by Activision.
The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on Ghostbusters. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.
