Phantom Attack

The Good
Phantom Attack is a fixed-screen shooter released only for the VIC-20. You control a ship which can move left and right along the bottom of the screen, and you need to fire upon phantoms that grow in size at the top of the screen and swoop down at you. The phantoms have two ways of swooping down; either they swoop in a straight line, or do so diagonally. If it is the latter, you’d better not be in the wrong spot. Sometimes, even missiles are sent down your way. Coming into contact with a phantom results in a loss of one of your lives, and the game ends when you run out.

Like other games from Mastertronic, this one is well presented, and right away I could tell the game was not written in BASIC. I was impressed by the space-age font used throughout the game. The use of color throughout the game is impressive. The invaders, as well as your projectiles, are presented in a multitude of colors. Most impressive is the way game will imitate loading bars when you lose a life.

You control the ship by joystick, but you can use the function keys to pause the game, end it, or select a different wave. Of these, pausing the game will make the screen look colorful, and any phantoms on screen freeze. These F-keys are displayed before the game starts. I found Phantom Attack addictive; I mastered the early waves, and had a go at the challenging later ones, and I kept wanting to play again.

The Bad
Starting from the title screen, screeching sound effects are aplenty throughout the game, and there was no need for the quick white flashes if the game is over.

The Bottom Line
Phantom Attack is a fixed-screen shooter where you kill phantoms that form at the top of the screen and swoop down at you. Excellent presentation, colorful gameplay, and quite addictive. Minus one for the annoying sounds.