SplayMaster description
Flying with a view from the top "tournament" type; developed single-handedly by a man named Chris Elsbree, has no plot and, apparently, is a kind of "homage" Space War - one of the first computer games.
Main menu/title screen. Ship selection.
Before you start you have to choose one of eight spaceships, differing not only colors and form, but also the speed and power of weapons (although in fact the difference between all of them is not so great). You can play against the computer (in this case enemy, as the protagonist, you are allowed to "prescribe" yourself) or another person; to watch the clash of the artificial intelligence against itself (ordering him to speak for both parties) is not prohibited. Fights occur one on one and consist of three rounds; to win the contest, you must destroy the opponent in two of them. The battle takes place in outer space, and available space is infinite formally; there is a significant stock of "health" (expressed in a scale at the bottom of the screen), but "life" and any bonuses available. The rectangles on the above - mentioned strip- in the amount of two pieces and is initially "empty" - filled after victories in rounds.
Start of the tournament. The camera automatically zooms in and out depending on the distance between the ships. One of the ships is hit! An extremely zoomed-out view.
Any boat there are two types of weapons - photon beams and missiles (the stock one and the other seems to be endless), and force shield. The involvement of the latter allows you to repel enemy attacks, but also leads to loss of health, which, however, after disabling the mentioned devices is slowly recovering; the same, incidentally, happens in the case of the use of "acceleration" (see below). After winning a part in "the tournament" goes by itself as an enemy fighter of a different type (an image of what was destroyed, on the relevant screen will look crossed out and the current "party" to fight this opponent will not be released). Unfortunately, the control is implemented is not very convenient: the turns in the parties responsible for the keys "S" and "F" for acceleration and braking - "E" and "D" respectively, for the shooting - "2" (photon cannon), and "3" (missiles), and to activate the power of the shield required to hold both attack buttons simultaneously. There are three levels of difficulty.
A very close encounter between the ships. An intense fight.
From the point of view of graphics SplayMaster looks - especially for free things - quite well: model ships drawn very clearly and looks really different from each other; the same can be said about visualizing the application of various types of weapons, and especially about the bright and colorful bursts of fallen fighters. On the other hand, the space, alas, looks absolutely similar and "lifeless": stars in this lot, but they are completely identical to each other and no other objects are observed. In General - essentially simple, but in terms of the process is not so simple fun, suitable primarily as a means for "active rest" for five to ten minutes.
One of the ships is destroyed.
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Source: Archive.org, Mobygames.com