Game Review: Gridrunner (Atari, Mastertronic)

Once again, a Mastertronic game draws “inspiration” from the arcades and this time it’s the Atari classic Centipede. By the time they re-released Gridrunner by Llamasoft (May 1987) the majority of their games were brand new titles, but it didn’t stop them seeking out this game from one of the most well-respected developers in the UK…

Gridrunner – Centipede Supercharged?

One thing that you can always rely on is that whenever Jeff Minter adapts an arcade game, he adds his own spin on it and improves on the gameplay in some way. Gridrunner is no exception and there’s far more to it than the arcade original. Instead of taking place in a mushroom-filled garden which you’re tasked to protect against an invading centipede (as the name implied), this time you’re protecting a grid from attacking droids.

No elaborate storyline, no drawn-out reasons for what you’re supposed to be doing and why… just grab your joystick and start shooting everything!

What’s New?

As I said, Gridrunner adds its own twist to the arcade favourite. As with the original, the droids snake their way down the screen from the top and as you shoot them, they split into smaller groups, each moving off in the opposite direction. Once they get into the bottom part of the playfield they stay there, looping up in the bottom few rows until they’re all destroyed or you lose all your lives.

All you have to do is destroy them all to complete the level and then you can move onto the next. Each time you destroy one, they’ll leave behind a pod that you can shoot for extra points. Leave them alone and they’ll gradually mutate until they turn into an indestructable bomb that will fall to the bottom of the grid, taking you out if you’re in its path. The real twist in Gridrunner is that two lasers are moving continually along both the X and Y axis of the grid. Both shoot at you periodically so you have to keep moving to stay alive!

Before play commences you can choose which level you start the game on, and once the game begins you start off with five lives. Unlike most arcade games, extra lives are awarded each time you complete a level rather than reaching fixed score levels.

Gameplay

Right from the start Gridrunner provides you with no-nonsense arcade gameplay. As soon as each level starts, you’re right in the middle of the action and the only break you get is between levels or when you lose a life and wait for the game to start again. But this is exactly how I like my old school arcade shooters to be – fast, frantic and simple. It’s incredibly easy to play, but even harder to put down.

This may be one of Jeff Minter’s earliest games for the 8-bit Atari range, but I’d argue that it’s also one of his best. Instead of trying to over complicate things with extra game mechanics, this is pure arcade action and just enough has been added to lift it above the original.

Graphics And Sound

For a game set on such a simplistic playfield, there isn’t a great deal that could have been done with the visuals but it all works extremely well. Your craft, all of the droids, pods and lasers are all single character objects and move at an impressive speed (especially when the screen is full) and the game never slows down for a moment. Everything is clear and easy to distinguish from each other and there are some nice visual effects both for the main beams from the laser at the bottom of the grid and explosions when you lose a life.

When it comes to the sound, there’s no music but there are some great sound effects throughout for every aspect of the game that really help to bring the game to life. On its own the game is good, but the sound effects really make a huge difference.

Best Of The Bunch

Gridrunner was originally released for four 8-bit systems – the Vic 20, Atari, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 (not counting the later PC and iOS remakes). While this isn’t as fast as the Vic 20 original, that isn’t a bad thing as it does give you a chance to breathe while you play. It’s not quite as frantic, and I’d say it works all the better for the slightly slower pace. The larger play area also makes moving around far easier and gives you more space to avoid everything coming at you.

While the Commodore 64 offers players a similar-sized playfield to the Atari, the game runs at a somewhat sluggish pace. And despite the superior sound capabilities of the hardware it certainly doesn’t show with that version allowing the Atari to shine once again. As for the Spectrum version, while it runs at a fairly respectable speed, the enemy droids  increase in quantity at a much higher rate than all the other versions making it a much tougher, more frustrating game. So the Atari wins pretty much on all fronts.

Overall

While I grew up with the Vic 20 of Gridrunner, I have to say that after playing the Atari version at length, it’s quickly become my favourite version of this Jeff Minter classic. If you’re looking for a straight up arcade shooter that’s going to give you hours of endless action and entertainment, you won’t need to look any further than this.

* * *

You know what we think but why not share your thoughts on this game! Let us know what you think of it in the comments below, or add your own score using the slider in the summary box at the top of the review!

Please follow and like us: