GALACTIC TOMB
» platform: Amstrad CPC » Developer: ESP soft » Download: KIKSTART.EU/GALACTIC-TOMB-CPC » price: free
In the earliest days of the universe there were three incredibly wise and powerful rulers; each managed a kingdom in the Ururben galaxy and together they managed over a happy and enlightened society. Of course, there’s always someone like Shakar who sees a utopia and feels it could be a smidgeon more evil, which leads to him defeating these benevolent kings and hiding their bodies throughout the galaxy. But after a few generations on the throne this dictator has grown old beyond the point where medical science can help. Those concealed, regal bodies potentially offer a chance for Shakar to prolong his reign even further, so one of the finest commanders of the imperial army is sent out to gather the required artefacts from the rather hostile worlds they were hidden upon.
Apart from being an unusual scenario for a game – the player is, in essence, supporting an evil dictator, so failing would actually work out better for the people of the empire – this quest isn’t going to be easy; the patrolling denizens
of each world are deadly to the touch and well armed, with every intention of destroying intruders regardless of who they are. The environment also seems out for our ‘hero’ with lava and acid pools spitting chunks of their contents skywards, but fortunately the commander is wearing an armoured suit which will take several hits before failing.
The graphics are very solid, with well-defined sprites populating each distinct planet and the player’s controls vary from stage to stage as well, with up as jump on the first level but becoming the thrust control for a jetpack on the second for example. Galactic Tomb has a few places where things get annoyingly hard, but advancing with caution seems to be the most sensible approach – the game doesn’t have a time limit and there’s no shame in edging along a corridor whilst holding down the fire button – and it helps to spend a little time acclimatising to the controls on each stage before heading into battle.
score 83%