Game Review: Dizasterblaster (Commodore 64, Americana)

Back in 1984, Mr Chip Software released Ad Infinitum, programmed by Shaun Southern.  This game had 256 levels of shooting action overall, and it just so happened to have a version of the main Star Wars theme being played on the title screen.  When the game was re-released by Americana, the game’s title was changed to Dizasterblaster, and indeed the title screen music was also changed to avoid any issues.  That was a very sensible move, and with Shaun already having earned a good reputation from fans of Mastertronic games, it was hoped this would be a winner.

Master Blaster

The key to Dizasterblaster is its pure simplicity when you play the game for the first time, with the subtle nuances coming later.  You will progress through 256 levels, with each level being either an attack wave of aliens, all the same type, an asteroid belt where you need to locate the fireballs to top up the fuel, or a docking sequence where you dock your space ship with the mothership, earning more fuel and a bonus for accuracy.  The game starts at level 00 and will go all the way through to level FF – yes, the levels are in hexadecimal notation.

The attack waves of aliens come on screen, with them either moving downwards in various lines and patterns, diagonally across the screen or horizontally, with each set firing at different times towards you.  Any bullet that hits you results in the loss of one of your six lives, as does colliding with any of the aliens.  The status display has from top to bottom the score, the level, how many lives you have left, the fuel gauge and the laser gauge.  Each time you fire, the laser gauge goes up.  If this goes too high and into the red, a warning siren sounds, and firing when too high means that you will explode and lose a life.

Fuelling the Fireball

Your ship has a limited amount of fuel, which decreases over time on screen.  Getting through the levels quickly means you have more chance to reach a level for more fuel, at the risk of the laser temperature increasing – a classic case of risk versus reward.  There is a level resembling an asteroid belt where you need to carefully steer your way through, with the fireballs being faster than the asteroids.  Run into a fireball, and you score points but also crucially you can get some more fuel to be able to carry on your mission.  The fuel does refill if you lose a life, but if you are attempting to get as far as possible, keeping the fuel topped up is key.

Docking Dilemmas

At the fifteenth level (level 0E – remember the first level is 00) you have a docking sequence instead of any blasting.  Simply line up your ship with the mother ship and get as accurate as possible when you dock.  The more accurate will score higher bonus points, and a bonus for any fuel you do have remaining at this time, as it is then topped up ready for the next set of levels.  The key here is to make sure that you can accurately dock and be ready in position when the next level starts to shoot down the first couple of aliens.

Accuracy Angle

The controls are very responsive, and this is key for a shoot-em-up like this.  You can move your ship up and down as well as left and right, so can move closer to some waves to get a better chance of a shot should you wish – again at a risk of having a bullet hit you.  You also do not generally start at the bottom of the screen, so you can move down a little,  but I found where I was vertically was generally fine and a good balance.   Accuracy is the name of the game here, especially as you need to use the bullets sparingly to avoid the laser temperature overheating.  The more accurate you are and the quicker you can complete levels, the better chance of refuelling, so a sensible and fair difficulty curve is present here.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Dizasterblaster are relatively straightforward.  The main ship is simply drawn in one colour, with the aliens in their waves being of all different types with a good use of colour – and they all move smoothly across the screen.  The bullets are at least visible and whilst the docking sequence is not the prettiest, it does the job, as does the colourful asteroid belt when searching for the fireball for more fuel.  The title screen theme is okay, and at least has some pace to it, with some reasonably good sound effects that play for shooting, when the laser overheats, and some nice explosion sounds too.

Final Thoughts

Dizasterblaster does what it says on the tin – it is a straight forward shooter, with the emphasis on accuracy and reflexes as well as offering an arcade style experience.  The level layouts can be learned well, and the fact you must watch the fuel really does give you some additional strategy as well as avoiding the laser overheating.  Getting to the first docking sequence feels like a partial success, and the more you play, the further you will get, which shows a sensible difficulty curve.  It is not the best game of its genre, but it is also not too bad either – a game which showcases some sensible game design from Shaun Southern with the focus on playability above everything else, which here is key.  Well worth a session of blasting and getting as far as you can, with a high score challenge and one more go factor very present.

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