Hellgate

The Good
Games from Jeff Minter are known for pushing the VIC-20 to its limits. Each one of his titles has the same fast and frenetic gameplay that is addictive, and Hellgate doesn't disappoint. It requires at least eight kilobytes, and the reason for this lies in the graphics department. The title screen has an Egyptian feel to it, and the high score table that follows that is quite colorful. There are some nice effects as well. Every screen is wiped from the center, and most of the text in the game appears letter by letter.

Gameplay-wise, it plays like Gridrunner, but you control four blasters instead of just two, and you can even use smart bombs if the heat gets too much. I like how goats run across the screen, and that you get 5000 points if you spare their lives. If you get good enough, you might just be among “The Guardians of the Gate” where you enter your name on a high score chart. If you choose not to do this, your name will default as YAK. It is here also that you get to choose the number of players you want and the level you want to start off at (you can only go up to 8).

The sonics are very good, matching the quality of coin-op games released around the same time. Controls are easy to get used to as well, and the game itself urges you to have just “one more go” in an attempt to get a high score or get further in the game.

The Bad
Nothing is bad about this game.

The Bottom Line
The more difficult version of Gridrunner. Nice effects, same addictive gameplay, solid sound effects. Enough said.