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

Programmer Gary Biasillo had worked at Ocean and learned some of their tools of the trade, including smooth sprite multiplexing and scrolling with an impressive number of enemies on screen, which all proved to be handy for producing a shoot-em-up such as Slayer. There were still plenty of options to have a good shoot-em-up game for the Commodore 64, so to be able to compete, you had to be competent at all levels: the graphics, sound and the gameplay had to be spot on. The minimal plot is that you are the Slayer, you deal in death, and it is you or them. No pretence whatsoever.

Angel of Death

The loading screen is very pretty, replicating the cassette inlay, and it has a replica of one of the end of level monsters you face, along with your ship. The game completes loading, and provided you’re listening on the right SID chip, the sampled drums and cymbals come at you thick and fast, with a really nice fast paced version of Blind Youth by The Human League to get you in the mood. It is very slick and accomplished. You also have the option of F1 for one or two players, F3 for one or two joysticks, and F5 to view the high scores, which includes the likes of Tweety Pie, Big Bird, Ernie and Bert, and Tom and Jerry on there – because they could.

Pressing the fire button starts the game with a small jingle, and you are straight into the action. Your ship moves responsively under the joystick controls, and each level has impressive backdrops at the top and the bottom of the screen, which need to be avoided. You can to a degree collide with some of them if just scraping the edges, which does mean it can be less frustrating, and there are targets to hit to make life easier for you. A number of these do fire at you in three directions, so you may be sensible to pick up a power up or two.

War Ensemble

Amongst the weapons you can collect are the orbs, which give you an orb that rotates around your ship. You can have up to two of these, and if your ship gets hit, you lose one of these orbs first before you lose a life. Another weapon to collect acts like a smart bomb, killing all firing enemies on the screen, and allowing you a breather. There is also an extra life to collect as well as increasing firepower, with both speed and also being able to fire diagonally. This can be very useful if moving along the top of the screen and attempting to destroy the targets that are below, and also means that when you have the larger enemies, you have more chances to destroy them.

Some of the enemy formations are very impressive. There are large space ships that move across the ship, a snake of orbs where you ned to hit the head of them to destroy it (very reminiscent of Firebird’s IO with that) along with some yellow winged birds that flap and fly across with aplomb. They all move smoothly and without glitching, showing that the sprite multiplexer was working overtime and well here. It is a case of working out when to move forward and take the enemies out, or stay back and aim your weapons, more so to time getting past the downward firing lasers that can really take you out.

Repentless

The end of the level produces a massive enemy, that means you need to hit it in multiple places in order to destroy each part of it. I would say the one at the end of the first level is difficult, especially as the weapons that come from the top and bottom curve towards you, and it is a case of positioning yourself right, taking those out, then dodging the lasers to take out the next part, then go for the middle sections. You will lose several lives when you attempt to work this out though, even with the fact you can gain an extra two during the level. Complete that, and it is on to the next where the spheres that move as a group can prove difficult to time and get past to say the least.

The game does get increasingly difficult during the remaining levels. There are only three in all, which is why perhaps it is at an arcade level of difficulty. That can put some people off, but it is worth persevering as once you have mastered where to be, and when to use the correct weapons, you can get further. Whilst not being able to complete the three levels, I have got to level three and one day I do intend to beat it, as I can imagine that is an accomplishment. The fact you do have some leeway with the background can help you at times to get through the tighter spots, and it allows you to concentrate on the enemies ahead.

Raining Blood

If you do manage to get a high score, a nice little tune plays and you can enter your name in the table. I can well imagine to get to the top of that would take considerable practice and getting through the levels unscathed. It is well worth noting that destroying the snake with the head that moves in circles of orbs gets you a sizeable number of points, so if you are able to destroy anything that is large, you will be rewarded – a classic case of that versus the risk you run of losing a life when attempting to destroy it too.

Later levels do get faster and more frenetic, and the number of enemies on screen, all moving smoothly and without any slowdown, is an impressive feat of programming. I once never saw any slowdown, and was able to battle through some difficult situations and tight spots by getting in the right place and blasting out of there as much as I could. The auto-fire on your joystick, by the way, will do you no good. Firing separately with multiple presses of the fire button works tons better, so that will mean a very sore trigger finger by the time that you put this game down.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Slayer are excellent. Stephen Robertson’s loading screen is excellent, and the graphical style from Mike Williams in the game shines, with three distinct levels and backgrounds, some impressive animation on the enemies, especially the winged yellow birds and the lizard end of level monster at the end of level two. It is all to a very high standard and would not look out of place on a full price game, showing the levels it attained to. The sound effects are good with any collection of bonuses indicated, and adequate shoot and explosion noises. The music is excellent, the title tune with its handclaps, cymbals and drums shining, and the little high score and get ready tunes add that sense of class and polish.

Final Thoughts

Slayer is what other shoot-em-ups in the Rack-It range should have been. Yes, it is difficult, and it will take you time to gradually progress through the three levels and learn how to deal with the enemies as you battle your way through. Nonetheless, it is fun trying to do so, with the right level of collision detection meaning you can get through tighter gaps with leeway, and with the frantic pace of the enemies and bullets, one that will keep you coming back to see if you get further but also smash your high score. It is all very polished, with thought and consideration gone into how the game develops. The new enemies on each level add variety and mean you look forward to seeing what else awaits you. A winner at this price, no question.

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