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This is a deliciously slow-paced old-school space shooter . Although simple in looks and design, it gives the illusion of a massive game world interspersed with moments of action and quiet space floating. The brothers Buzz and Zap Gamma work in a giant space station near Jupiter. Their homes are on Earth, so each day they commute to and from their lab. It's a long trip filled with hazards in the form of strange creatures, enemy ships and careening asteroids. Your task is to guide them home after a long day. Make the trip from Jupiter to Earth while blasting enemies, collecting space coins and taking in the serene atmosphere. Leaving the Jupiter station you choose one of the brothers to pilot. Buzz, the brother with the wild hair, and Zap, the one in blue, are different in appearance only. Take them out of the airlock and your journey begins. Enemies travel in packs and fly in patterns before settling on the side of the screen. If you don't destroy them as they appear, they'll form a large group that gradually moves toward you, sort of like a horizontal version of Space Invaders. Using the [arrow] keys to move and [WASD] keys to fire in four directions, maneuver your brother through the ships and take them out one by one. Power-up canisters can be found by defeating enemies or purchased from a fly-by salesman who appears from time to time. Nab items like a double-laser, penetrating shots, or temporary invulnerability. You can also restore some energy to your damaged craft by picking up health canisters. If you take too many hits, your ship bites the dust and leaves you floating in a space suit. If this happens, your brother comes to the rescue. Tag him to switch characters and continue the long journey home. Background music plays only during important parts of the game, leaving the rest of your trip silent except a few sound effects. Surprisingly the slow pace makes it twice as exciting. Mixing action with the serenity of gently scrolling backgrounds goes a long way for ambiance. It's proof you don't need fancy video cards and polygons to make an immersing game. Just a good eye for composition. A commercial version was released in 2016. |
