Game Review: Destructo (ZX Spectrum, Bulldog)

The Aim of The Game

Quite simply, the idea of the game is to stop Dr. Destructo by shooting down the enemy aircraft in your warplane, whilst dodging the enemy.

The enemy planes, smoothly move up and down at random times, so you can’t just shoot in one direction all of the time, adding a higher level of skill to the game.  As you mainly move in circular loops, it can take some time to turn your plane around and aim for the same target.  This is a good thing or else it’d take some of the fun away.

Being An Ace Shot

Once you have shot an enemy aircraft, you will see usually change into a floating question market with dots around it.  They float along for a few seconds before fall earthbound.

Helicopters are interesting as when they are shot down, they zig-zag downwards until hitting the main target or landing in the sea. Other targets can cause them to spin around and produce different colour aircraft which are sometimes more dangerous.

Two Player Team Mode

One great feature is the Team Mode.  This makes Destruco a two-player game where both players are on the same side.  Player 1 controls the white plane whilst player 2, has the red one.

In one player mode, after every level, you are awarded an extra life, however, it is slightly different in Team Mode.  The player who scored the most points during the last round wins an extra life (unless it’s a draw, where neither will get an extra life).  So, although you are both on the same side, it adds another competitive edge to be the best each level.  Nobody likes to be outscored by their mate, after all, so game on!

If player 1 or 2 are out of lives, there is no credit system to bring the other player back into the action.

Astronomical Magic!

As you progress through the stages in Dr Destructo’s (of which there are 21), the days will gradually countdown from Day 7.  During this time, you will see the sun and the moon gradually appear and move from the left of the screen and travel right.

During the night time, the Moon is in a nice crescent shape with stars are in the background.  Very amusingly though, the game defies physics when the sun is out.  There is scattering of light here and the background always remains dark.  So, no Mr. Blue Sky here.

It’s a nice idea to have the Sun and the Moon but it’s one of those things you just happen to notice and laugh at when you first notice it.

Playability

The gameplay is very fast and overall, the controls generally respond rather well.  There can be some slight lag when there is plenty happening on the screen, but that is to be expected and still runs at an acceptable level without ruining the gameplay.

Your plane can twist and turn in different directions and change speed too.  When you start each new level, you get one bomb which you can launch when you like.  It travels slightly diagonally upwards in the direction you are facing then falls downwards destroying any ship or land beneath it.  If, however, it lands in the sea, it’ll cause no damage and just be a wasted bomb.  Usually though, you do hit the target as they take up most of the screen.

When you lose a life, your plane will spin out of control down the screen before crashing.  Provided you have any lives remaining, respawning happens in two different ways.  Colliding with some an airborne object by flying underneath a plane for example (with the exception of green planes which are harmless) means that you will reappear after a few seconds from the side of the screen and have invincibility for a few seconds.  On the other hand, if you just happen to fly into the sea, your plane will reappear moving down from the top of the screen.  This I found didn’t appear to give you invincibility so you could easily lose a life there say there was a satellite in the way.

Graphics

At the very beginning of each stage, the ships, island or submarines at the lower part of the screen quickly and neatly drawn.  In fact, everything is well draw and the planes tilt at nice angles.  My favourites being the helicopters which move and change direction.

The downside to all the colour is that you will see quite a bit of colour clash when flying around screen.  This is especially evident if you fly near the targets at the bottom of the screen or flay past the sun.  Despite this, it is still great to have a colourful game to play and enjoy.  The game is after all based on the enemy being different colours as they each do different things.

The loading screen is good displaying a plane taking off from an aircraft carrier runway.

Sound Effects but No Tunes

Although there are sound effects in Destruco, they’re pretty basic.  When firing it’s a rapid tapping noise and when you sink your target, (making water squirt up before sinking your target), there is a repeated sound effect too.

The only other sound effect is after each level when it shows what you scored on that level counting from 0 to whatever you scored.  The sound incrementally changes in tone the higher that you scored.

Unfortunately, there isn’t any music in this game, which is a pity.

Screen Names

Each of the levels are named at the bottom of the screen, which I always like to see in a game.  As the game is quite addictive, you do want to get that little bit further each time and find out what that next stage is called.

Completing a Stage

What’s also is that after completing a stage, any remaining planes and sprites that were left on the screen whizz of the screen, one at a time to either the left or right.  A nice feature which could have easily been left.

After your plane and the enemies have been cleared off the screen, you’ll then see the bombed target sink into the sea.

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