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In some ways Space Cadet is par for the Game-Maker space shooter course. It's a bit of a patchwork, that more or less colors inside the lines set by RSD's engine. The game design involves roaming around an inscrutable maze in a sort of a cross between a lunar lander and a Space Invader. For the visuals Matthew Groves employed his best MS Paint skills; for the music he raided Sierra’s Space Quest. The space bar fires lasers at monsters yanked from, I believe, Penguin Pete. And yet, the game has charm. And it plays well. The laser in particular has a satisfying crunch. Part of that comes from the sound, part from the visuals, and part from the timing of the animation. Movement is precise. Groves seems to have paid actual attention to the difficulty balance (unusually for a Game-Maker game). Stereo visualizer bars serve as spikes. What seem to be old 1950s B-movie posters animate in the background. There’s little sense of nonsense about this game, and yet a huge sense of playfulness. In a distant, far off galaxy, there lived a man named Don. Don was a Space Cadet who dreamed about being an ace StarFighter, but alas, he was too young. One day, then planet of Kwendor was taken over by Daiwn, the king of Galia. Daiwn was an evil ruler and was not satisfied in his conquest, so he kidnapped Don's niece. Nobody dared join in Don's quest to recuse his niece. Not even his brother. So begins the game where you help to get Don to the evil mini-men-in-the-moon who are Daiwn's top guardians on Kwendor. Good luck, and may the force be with you. |
