Game Review: Orion (Commodore 64, Rack-It)

Orion was one of a number of games programmed by Graftgold that only saw a release on the Commodore 64. Whilst the blurb on the back inlay reminds you instantly of the Star Wars film franchise, along with the mention of stormtroopers in the instructions, the plot of the game is actually quite simple. Orion is a constellation under threat, and the only way to save it is to ensure that the right chemical formulas are collected, using four planets to collect those elements from. The loading sequence is very pretty, giving you the game credits along with a view of the constellation of Orion itself along with the stars that make it. It does ease the burden of loading and adds to the overall excellent presentation.

Star Sign

Once the game has loaded, the title screen shows with a nice Rack-It logo, and flicks between the screen and the high score table, with lashings of colour throughout, and a good title theme from Jason Page too. You can use the function keys to select various options, which are one player mode, two player mode either using the same or individual joysticks, and the volume control level. These show as icons in the bottom of the title screen when a function key is pressed, and it again adds nicely to the presentation overall.  Once you commence, you will need to enter your three-letter handle using the joystick to enter the letters and fire to go to the next letter. It does remember what you last entered between games too, so next time you play, you can fire straight through if you want to.

Once you have commenced play, the first level gives you an option to select one of four planets to beam down to, along with the chemical formula required. So, for the first being H2O (water) you need hydrogen and oxygen. When selecting a planet, if you move the joystick left or right and you get the information about the radiation levels as well as the amount of chemicals available on each. The four planets in order on screen are Auriga, Regulus, Ara and Deimos. Each planet has a different level of radiation – the less radiation, the more density. However, they are also in order of intelligence of attack so visiting Deimos will see the enemy target you a lot better than on Auriga.

Stormtrooper Season

Once you beam down to the planet, note the beam point where you came in – these are recognisable and you can use them to your advantage later on. Each planet has a series of platforms and landscapes that you can move around, with occupants of the planet being in creature form (such as the little worms) or in enemy form such as the stormtroopers and other aliens. You will need to use your gun to shoot these before you are shot. Taking a shot will lose you some of the shields, but if you run into any of the aliens or stormtroopers, rather than lose a shield, it is an instant loss of life. That can prove to be a frustrating element at times as sometimes those stormtroopers will jump on to you with no chance to avoid.

Only certain stormtroopers, when shot, leave something behind. This can be one of the chemical elements you need, or a bomb (which shows B). The lettering for each element, as the object left behind bounces, is not always the easiest to see, which is difficult considering there are only supposed to be a finite number of elements to be collected. Collecting a bomb is good and it can act like a smart bomb. Holding down the fire button achieves this, which is not mentioned in the instructions. Often you will be tempted to hold down fire to use auto fire and without realising it, you may waste a bomb without realising what you have done.  In any case, once you have used the bomb, the enemies on screen are all killed so if you do time it right, this may give you a chance to collect a chemical element.

Elementary

Once you have collected enough of one of the elements, that corresponding letter disappears off the top of the display (which can show each of the five lettered elements as needed), meaning that you can easily see which elements are left. Once you have collected them all, the display changes to show the letters “Beam Out” at the top.  To beam back out of the planet, you need to locate the beam point such as the one you started at. Once you recognise this, press fire and you will be beamed up and the level is completed, scoring a suitable bonus for the elements collected along the way.

What is not made clear at all in the instructions, and would have made for a better understanding of the game, is that you can use the beam points at any time in order to choose another planet to beam to. So, for example if you needed to make nitrous oxide, and you have collected the oxygen from one planet, you can then beam back out to another planet where nitrogen is more available, collect it from there, and then beam back out once that final element is collected. This does enhance the gameplay and strategy once you know it, but because it is not made clear at all, you may have ended up aimlessly around one planet waiting to collect a chemical which is much less plentiful than on another one. As this is a key gameplay element, missing it here really does it no favours whatsoever.

Chemical Warfare

The four planets have different characteristics with some having a daytime background of blue and some a more night time feel of black. There are a number of platforms and water sections to jump between, and it works most of the time. On rare occasions the jump appears to be in slow motion and not as far, meaning you may miss the leap you attempted to do and therefore lose one of your lives. Knowing that some have more radiation than others and that some have inhabitants targeting your every move, speed of movement is of the essence. The controls are responsive enough and the firepower you have can deal with any enemy you come across. The fact you have to wait for a bonus to bounce at least once can mean some slight waiting around to collect, and the object can explode. It would have been better for it to wait on the ground for a few seconds and be more noticeable what it is, to aid collection and gameplay.

There are a number of levels to complete, each one having different chemical formulas, so for example level three has sulphur dioxide as what is needed. This can mean a trip more to the planet Demios as the sulphur is more available, but there will be much more accurate enemy targeting and fire as a result. This does mean there is a risk and reward element as you progress, and if you do manage to collect all the formulas needed to complete the game, there is a nice game complete screen with a large well drawn image of a stormtrooper to greet you – so well worth persevering if you do manage to get far. Certainly, from a presentation point of view, it cannot be faulted at least.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Orion are of a very good standard, with some very good definition of the platform layouts of each planet, the nice touches such as the impressive building backdrop on one planet having 1988 in Roman numerals along the top, as well as the subtle way that each enemy moves differently, with some good animation. Everything is nicely defined and certainly the stormtroopers look pretty convincing, especially the way they walk with the guns and enemy fire.  The music from Jason Page is excellent throughout with a solid title tune, and some good tunes if you do get a high score or complete the game, and a little game over tune too. The sound effects are reasonable enough and sound a little metallic at times, but at least give you an idea of what is approaching and what to shoot.

Final Thoughts

When I first played Orion back in 1988, even with the original instructions, I had not managed to get very far. It was only when I went back to it and by sheer fluke found the way to beam out at any time to move between planets and/or to complete the level with the elements collected that I made any progress. The same can be held true even now. Whilst the game is a very nice mixture of run and gun, with platforms and collecting the elements and bombs thrown in, the incomplete instructions mean that unless you are aware of the way you activate the bomb, or beam up from the beam points, it just results in endless going around the same planet without realising it may not have what you need. The presentation, especially the nice loading sequence and options, really do show that care was taken there, and if the same care had been taken to explain the gameplay, either in the instructions or even a tutorial in game, that would have helped hugely to allow you to progress well, and understand how to play a lot better. As it stands, there is a good game in there, but it feels like a missed opportunity to elevate the game more.

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