Fire Power

The Good
Back in 1988, the Amiga was the ultimate home computer, with the greatest graphics, sound and interface around. This game was one the gems that really showcased it features. Digital-quality sound and a scrolling playfield to wrack havoc on the enemy--what could be better? This game featured little plot to hold the action together, just like most great '80s era games.

The name of the developer, Silent Software, was, of course, a joke since this game not only featured sound, but lots of REALLY LOUD sound effects. A line on the bottom of the opening screen even prompted you to turn up your speakers really high, as if the sounds would otherwise be too subtle to hear.

The scrolling 32 color playfield was the real gem of this game. The player's tank always stayed centered while the playfield moved around it. The perspective was top-down which, though antiquated by today's standards, was perfect for this game during this era.

Though I never finished this game--I always had too much fun blowing things up to actually bother to rescue the hostages--it stands out in my mind as one of the great Amiga "killer apps" of the 1980s.

The Bad
The sound effects (really big explosion!) got redundant after a while. Yes, we know it was a really big explosion! But why does it sound identical to the last one? And the one before that?

The Bottom Line
A great '80s era game that showcased the Amiga's features and made no bones about blowing things up!