Uridium

Last updated
Uridium
Uridium cover.jpg
Developer(s) Graftgold [1]
Publisher(s) Hewson Consultants
Designer(s) Andrew Braybrook
Programmer(s) Andrew Braybrook (C64) [1]
Dominic Robinson (Spectrum)
Nick Eastridge (NES)
Composer(s) Steve Turner (C64)
Rich Shemaria (NES)
Platform(s) C64 (original)
Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, BBC Micro, DOS, NES, Virtual Console, ZX Spectrum
Release28 February 1986 [2]
Genre(s) Scrolling shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

Uridium (released on the NES as The Last Starfighter) [3] 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, [4] each named after a metal element, with the last level being called Uridium (a fictional metallic element, not to be confused with the real metallic element iridium). The manual quotes Robert Orchard, who invented the name as saying "I really thought it existed". [5]

Contents

Uridium was later released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Mindscape purchased a license to release a game based on the film The Last Starfighter . [3] Rather than program a new game, however, Mindscape decided to take an easier route by recycling an older, relatively obscure game. The title screen, sprites, and soundtrack were modified, but the levels and gameplay were identical. In 2003, it was re-released on the C64 Direct-to-TV.

In 2008, the C64 version was a title on the Wii Virtual Console, [6] released on 28 March for the Virtual Console in Europe, costing 500 Wii Points. [4]

Plot

The plot of Uridium is described as follows:

The solar system is under attack! Enemy Super-Dreadnoughts have been placed in orbit around each of the fifteen planets in this galactic sector. They are draining mineral resources from the planetary cores for use in their interstellar power units. Each Super-Dreadnought seeks out a different metal for its metal converter.
Your Manta class Space Fighter will be transported to each planet in turn and it is your task to destroy each Dreadnought. First you must attack the defensive screen of enemy fighters, then you must neutralise the majority of surface defences before you land on the Super-Dreadnought's master runway. Once on board you must pull as many fuel rods as possible from the metal converters before you take off for a final strafing run as the Dreadnought vaporises into the ether.

Gameplay

In-game screenshot from the first level of the Amstrad CPC version of Uridium Uridium.png
In-game screenshot from the first level of the Amstrad CPC version of Uridium
In-game screenshot from the first level of the Commodore 64 version Uridium Screenshot.png
In-game screenshot from the first level of the Commodore 64 version

In practice, each level takes place at a fixed altitude just above the surface of the Dreadnoughts. The screen scrolls horizontally in both directions as the Manta flies over the Dreadnoughts. Each Dreadnought has a different configuration of walls and other structures which must be negotiated in order to reach the landing zone. This task is hampered by squadrons of enemy fighters that attack the Manta in waves. Lastly, flashing ports on the Dreadnought's surface release homing mines that cannot be destroyed. It takes a skillful Manta pilot to outfly the mines until they self-detonate.

Only when enough of the Dreadnought's defenses have been destroyed is the "Land Now!" signal activated, allowing the player to slow the Manta's speed to a minimum and land on the sternward landing zone. After this, the pilot presumably enters the interior of the mothership and sets its nuclear reactor to self-destruct. Finally, the Manta takes off again as the Dreadnought below crumbles to atoms. As the Manta flies over the Dreadnought again the player has the opportunity to shoot any remaining defences. [7]

Later Dreadnoughts have tricky wall configurations where the gap between the walls is so narrow that the Manta must turn sideways in order to pass through it. [7] This required skillful use of the joystick. More skill could be exhibited (and more points awarded) by ignoring the "Land Now!" signal and destroying the elite fighters that attacked in waves of one.

The final Dreadnought, Uridium, actually contains only a few screens of gameplay; the bulk of this Dreadnought consists of the "congratulations" message for completing the game (i.e., "GOOD ZAPPING... TURKEY."). This is initially made inaccessible by an impassable wall, but visible in the final overflight when the Dreadnought is destroyed.

Technical details

When Uridium was originally released, reviewers were impressed by the way the Dreadnoughts were presented. In a simulation of parallax scrolling, the surface of the Dreadnoughts scrolls horizontally, whereas the stars in the background stay still.

Since the Commodore 64's graphics do not support parallax scrolling, particular trickery was required to achieve this. The way it was done is that the Dreadnoughts' surface is actually the background, and the black empty space and the stars are character glyphs on the foreground. As the Commodore 64's graphics chip scrolls the screen to the left or right, the character glyphs representing the stars change shape by shifting their single lit pixels to the right or left, countering the scroll of the screen and giving the impression they were stationary. [8]

Sequels

Uridium was followed by Uridium+ (a modified version containing new levels), and Uridium 2 on the Amiga platform.

Reception and legacy

Computer Gaming World praised Uridium for its graphics' ability to display depth, as well as the game's robust controls. [10] Zzap!64 were similarly enthusiastic, describing the game as "visually awesome, sonically sound, technically stunning and a brilliant shoot em up to boot". It was rated 94% overall. [11] Antic also liked the game, citing its "detailed and lifelike graphics". [12]

The game won the award for best shooting game of the year according to the readers of Crash magazine. [13] It was also voted Best Arcade-style Game of the Year at the 1986 Golden Joystick Awards. [14] It received a Your Sinclair Megagame award. [15]

Uridium reached number one in both the Commodore 64 and all-format charts in early 1986. [16] Later in the year, it reached number three in the ZX Spectrum charts. [17]

One of Andrew Braybrook's later releases, Morpheus , contained a homing mine enemy called an "Uridimine", as a tribute to the homing mines of Uridium. Some aficionados refer to the homing mines as "Uridimines" when talking about Uridium or Uridium 2, as well.

Related Research Articles

<i>Bombuzal</i> 1988 video game

Bombuzal is a puzzle video game designed by Antony Crowther and David Bishop for Image Works. The game was released in 1988 for the Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64. It was also released in 1989 for MS-DOS and in December 1990 in Japan for the Super Famicom, with the North American version released in August 1992 renamed as Ka-Blooey.

<i>The Great Giana Sisters</i> 1987 video game

The Great Giana Sisters is a platform game developed by the West German company Time Warp and published by Rainbow Arts in 1987 for home computers such as the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST. Players control Giana to explore a magical world inside their dreams; to wake up, they must find a giant diamond. They traverse side-scrolling stages while avoiding hazards such as monsters and other enemies. These can be defeated by using power-ups, which grant the player abilities such as firing projectiles and making enemies fall asleep.

<i>Paradroid</i> 1985 video game

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.

<i>Renegade</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, released as Renegade in the West, is a beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for the arcades in 1986. In the original Japanese version Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, the game revolves around a high-school delinquent named Kunio-kun who must stand up against a series of rival gangs frequently targeting his classmate Hiroshi. In the Western version Renegade, the player controls a street brawler who must face four different gangs in order to rescue his girlfriend being held captive by a mob boss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graftgold</span> Computer game developer

Graftgold was an independent computer game developer that came to prominence in the 1980s, producing numerous computer games on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.

Newsfield Publications Ltd was a British magazine publisher during the 1980s and early 1990s.

<i>The Legend of Kage</i> 1985 video game

The Legend of Kage is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash game developed and published by Taito in 1985. In this game, the player controls the ninja Kage, with the objective being to get through five stages in order to save the princess Kirihime. These stages are littered with enemies, but Kage has various skills and weapons on his hands in order to get through them.

<i>Star Goose</i> 1988 video game

Star Goose is a vertically scrolling shooter that was published for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS by Logotron in 1988. The player controls Scouser-Gitt, who pilots the eponymous Star Goose, a vessel that has been commissioned to scour the planet Nom and collect 48 crystals. Players must collect all six crystals in each of the game's eight levels to advance, while at the same time avoiding or destroying enemies and maintaining their shield, ammunition, and fuel levels. The game's surfaces are contoured, which affects the way that bullets travel, and contain tunnels that switch modes to a three-dimensional perspective where the player can replenish their resources.

<i>Monty on the Run</i> 1985 video game

Monty on the Run is a computer game created by the software house Gremlin Graphics and released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16, written by Peter Harrap for the ZX Spectrum with the iconic in-game music on the Commodore 64 provided by Rob Hubbard. It is the third game in the Monty Mole series.

<i>Bomb Jack</i> 1984 video game

Bomb Jack is a platform game published by Tehkan for arcades and later ported to home systems. The game was a commercial success for arcades and home computers. It was followed by several sequels: the console and computer game Mighty Bomb Jack, the arcade game Bomb Jack Twin, and Bomb Jack II which was licensed for home computers only.

The Virtual Console is a defunct line of downloadable video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

<i>Cauldron</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Cauldron is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computers. It contains both platform game and horizontally scrolling shooter sections. Players control a witch who aims to become the "Witch Queen" by defeating an enemy called the "Pumpking".

<i>Sanxion</i> 1986 video game

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.

<i>Forgotten Worlds</i> 1988 video game

Forgotten Worlds, titled Lost Worlds in Japan, is a side-scrolling shooter video game by Capcom, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1988. It is notable for being the first title released by Capcom for their CP System arcade game hardware.

<i>The Last Ninja</i> 1987 video game

The Last Ninja is an action-adventure game developed and published by System 3 in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It was converted to the Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988, the Apple II in 1989, the Amiga and Atari ST in 1990, and the Acorn Archimedes in 1991.

<i>World Games</i> (video game) 1986 video game

World Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx for the Commodore 64 in 1986. Versions for the Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Master System and other contemporary systems were also released. The NES version was released by Milton Bradley, and ported by Software Creations on behalf of producer Rare.

<i>China Warrior</i> 1987 video game

China Warrior, known as The Kung Fu in Japan, is a beat 'em up video game created in 1987 by Hudson Soft for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16. The game received mixed reviews upon release, with praise for its large sprite graphics but criticism towards its gameplay.

<i>Deactivators</i> 1986 action-puzzle video game

Deactivators is a 1986 puzzle video game designed by David Bishop and Chris Palmer, developed by Tigress Marketing and System Software, and published by Ariolasoft's action game imprint Reaktor. The player controls bomb disposal robots known as deactivators and must use them to deactivate bombs planted by terrorists in five research complexes. The concept for the game came from a brainstorming session between Bishop and Palmer; its design and development took five to six months to complete. It was released for the Amstrad CPC 464, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms in October 1986.

<i>Warhawk</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

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.

Uridium 2 is a science fiction themed, horizontally scrolling shooter designed and programmed by Andrew Braybrook for the Amiga. It was published by Renegade Software in 1993. Uridium 2 is the sequel to Braybrook's Commodore 64 game Uridium. Braybrook kept a diary of the game's development in late 1992, which was published in the British computer magazine The One.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Making of Uridium". Retro Gamer. No. 106. Imagine. 16 August 2012. pp. 34–39.
  2. ↑ Hewson, Andrew (2016). Hints and Tips for Videogame Pioneers. Lulu. p. 103. ISBN   9781844991365.
  3. 1 2 "The Making Of Uridium | Retro Gamer". www.retrogamer.net. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  4. 1 2 "Review: Uridium (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)". Nintendo Life. March 29, 2008. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Uridium". TEMPE. Archived from the original on 2001-08-17. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  6. ↑ "Commodore 64 coming to Virtual Console". Nintendo Life. February 21, 2008. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Reed, Kristan (October 26, 2007). "Uridium". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ Hytönen, Pasi: Uridiumin ja Parallaxin grafiikka. C-lehti 1/1987, pp. 50–51. Available online at Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine .
  9. ↑ Game review, Crash magazine, Newsfield Publications, issue 35, December 1986
  10. ↑ Wilson, David (March 1988). "The Best Starfighter: A Comparison of Space Arcade Games". Computer Gaming World . No. 45. pp. 24–25. Archived from the original on 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
  11. ↑ "Uridium Review", Zzap!64 (11): 100–101, March 1986
  12. ↑ Tevervaugh, Rick (May 1988). "New ST Entertainments / From dungeons to outer space". Antic. Vol. 7, no. 1. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  13. ↑ "The 1986 CRASH Readers' Awards", CRASH (38), Newsfield Publications: 34–35, March 1987
  14. ↑ "Golden Joystick Awards". Computer and Video Games (66). EMAP: 101. April 1987.
  15. ↑ Your Sinclair magazine, Reviews section, issue 12, page 92
  16. ↑ "Charts". Popular Computing Weekly. Vol. 5, no. 12. Sunshine Publications. 20 March 1986. p. 43. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  17. ↑ "Hit List". Your Sinclair. No. 14. Sportscene Specialist Press. February 1987. p. 23. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.