W.A.R

Miscellaneous Trivia

Some interesting info on the different versions:

As most already know, the C64 version is a derivitive of the classic Uridium. The other three released versions are all very different vertical shooters - with the Spectrum version being the first released (it was actually a very different game originally, and was renamed to tie it in with the C64 version).

The Spectrum version has an interesting 'shop' feature which could be considered a forerunner to the shop found in Blood Money or Xenon II. You use your points scored from destroying enemies to buy extra lives and arm your ship with several different special weapons.

It also has a bonus game on side 2 of the tape which allows you to play a harder remixed version of the levels (two of which are based on the motherboards of the Speccy and C64!!).

This also further points to the later released versions as being originally a totally different game not related to the the C64 version of W.A.R at all.

The BBC version is very good for what it is and is obviously based on the Spectrum version but has been greatly stripped down. There is no shop feature in this version and you only have a default laser but it does have auto-fire built in which is nice. Excellent scrolling within the limits of the machine though.

Finally there exists an Amstrad version. In Issue 15 of Amstrad Action there is a preview of W.A.R in which the game is clearly unfinished and more to the point is actually based directly on the C64 version. This version was never released and was likely scrapped as there were obviously some problems in its development which is clear from the reading the preview.

Instead, the game released was a vertical shooter like the Beeb and Speccy and it is loosely based on the Spectrum version but that is where the similarities end... What you got if you were an Amstrad owner has to be one of the worst shoot 'em ups created.

The shop feature has been stripped back to include only the option to buy extra lives. Within the game itself, you are only required to destroy a set number of aliens to complete each level and there are no ground targets at all (which was the main element to destroy in all the other versions).

You only ever see one type of alien on each level and after level 4 they never change from the flying ring enemies. I guess the programmer figured you'd never bother to play that far... To top it off, although the background is different in each level, it is only a single set of repeating tiles and never changes throughout the level.