Annihilator

The Good
Annihilator is another version of the classic game Defender, only that Rabbit's version fails. You control a spaceship which has the ability to move left or right across a landscape and is capable of firing a laser. Various types of aliens appear from the right side of the screen and you must shoot enough of these aliens to move on to the next wave. Come in contact with the aliens, and you lose a life. Lose all your three lives and the game is over.

The demo that plays after the title screen shows you what to expect. Also, the game starts out easy, but as you complete more and more waves, it gets rather difficult when it comes to the number and speed of the aliens. This makes it ideal for new players to get to grips with the game; and therefore they can enjoy the game just as much as experienced players.

The Bad
You are welcomed into the game by a bland pink title screen, with only the title of the game and the name of the author. Gameplay-wise, there is a loud siren while you play that gets rather annoying quickly. The mountains are crudely drawn and there is no radar and no humans to rescue. Also, the aliens falling down the screen when your ship's laser hits them is a nice touch, but an explosion would have been nice.

The Bottom Line
Annihilator for the VIC-20 looks and sounds bad. The in-game demo shows people what to expect – a crippled Defender clone that lacks the radar and human prisoners. If you want to play Defender on your VIC-20, find a copy of Atarisoft's version. At least you won't hear annoying loud noises while you play the game.