Gorgon

The Good
Defender is a successful arcade classic from the Eighties, ported to popular systems such as the Atari 2600, Atari 400/800, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, Intellivision, and VIC-20. An Apple ][ version may also have been released, but that didn’t stop Nasir Gebelli from creating his own version of the game, long before he worked for Square. Gebelli earned a good reputation for creating top-notch games for Apple’s system, and Gorgon was no different.

You control a spaceship which must zoom across a landscape killing four types of Gorgons while protecting humans they are trying to kidnap. These Gorgons usually skim across the landscape, looking for humans to grab onto. When they do, it is your job to kill them before they reach the top of the screen. If you manage to make a kill, you need to catch the falling human with the spaceship. If you succeed, you are awarded 100 points, but if you let it fall all the way down, fifty points are subtracted from your score. If you come into contact with any Gorgon, you will lose one of your three lives, and the game ends when all of them get depleted.

The game is well presented, with the majority of information contained in boxes. The necessary readouts, such as the radar and life counter, are at the top of the screen. Your position on the radar is represented by a crosshair, and having it wrap around when it touches the edge is a nice touch. Graphically, your spaceship looks brilliant, as do the Gorgons. The game behaves the same way as its arcade parent, with Gorgons warping in near your vicinity instead of just appearing out of nowhere. Your hands are spread out on both sides of the keyboard, making the game easier to control.

The Bad
I was sure if I killed a Gorgon skimming across the landscape, the game would sometimes take fifty points from my score. Occasionally, they would warp in right on top of me.

The Bottom Line
Having played the Apple ][ version of Defender, I think Gebelli’s version is much better. The presentation is excellent, as are the sound and graphics. If you don’t like the Apple ][ version from Atarisoft, you could try this one out.