Asteroids

Review

by Joshua Roberts

The premise of the 1980s arcade hit Asteroids was fairly simple: take one small spaceship, throw a zillion gigantic asteroids at it, and voila -- instant classic! Now, more than a decade later, Activision has upped the stakes with Asteroids in full 3D, a full-scale makeover of the still-enjoyable original.

You must guide your tiny ship through six unique zones, each with numerous sub-levels, while battling for survival against such dangers as a black hole with a deadly gravitational pull and a hostile sun that shoots red-hot flames in your direction. The enemies are tougher this time around, too. Instead of simple, run-of-the-mill giant rocks, you're up against huge crystals that replicate and increase in number whenever you shoot them; meteors that burst into flame; worm-like monsters straight out of The Empire Strikes Back; and countless others.

Fortunately, your weapons are better this time, too. Select one of three asteroid-clearing ships, then equip it with laser nets, shock waves, gun satellites, Armageddon bombs and many more. Half the fun of the remake is collecting and using these new weapons. The ship controls are similar to those in the original and the classic fire-shield-thrust style of play preserved, which makes it easy to jump right in and start blasting away.

The graphics are an interesting combination of 2D backgrounds and 3D objects, which creates a strange but generally successful gaming atmosphere. The nicely done cut scenes before each new zone contribute to the overall storyline. The story itself, however, leaves something to be desired. It's essentially a vehicle to propel your asteroid ship from one zone to the next, with little effort to make it particularly compelling.

No matter, though. Asteroids isn't about storyline, it's about the fun and addicting action of flying around space and blowing things up. In that regard, the game succeeds nicely. It's basically the original game with better graphics and more weapons. It's not the next generation of gaming by any means, but it is fun to play. And while it may be a little too easy to beat once you've mastered each level, it's certainly an enjoyable diversion for fans of the original.