Games:
2010
- Platform: Commodore 64/128
- Release Date: 1986
- Similar Games: 1942 (Commodore 64/128)
Game Description
Starfleet Command's message is clear -- the Gorganitor have launched an attack fleet and are overrunning your sector of space. Their fleet is swarming everywhere and Headquarters doesn't have the resources to send you any reinforcements. But, they have warped four repair and re-supply bases into your sector. You are the only line of defense standing between the planet Jaraloba and the Gorganitor invasion. If you fall, the planet will be lost.2001 is a spaceship based shooter with a first-person view. As pilot of a small Jaraloba defense vessel, you must travel throughout all grid positions in your sector of space and secure them from the invading fleet. Your ship is equipped with a pair of blasters and a stock of proton torpedoes. The blasters are good for destroying Gorganitor ships -- if you can hit them. The proton torpedoes do not need to be aimed but instead move out a distance from you ship and explode, annihilating all enemies on-screen.
Your ship also has a limited energy supply as well as a force shield. The energy supply is used continuously during your battles and can be recharged at any of the four re-supply bases. Each time you take a hit, you lose one point of shield protection, which can also be repaired at the re-supply bases. If your shield reaches zero charge and you take another hit before you can get to a friendly base, the ship explodes and the game ends. ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
2010 is similar in style to many previously released vertical scrolling shooters. ~ Kyle Knight, All Game GuideReview: Enjoyment
Technically, the game is a solid shooter but the difficulty level is poorly paced and leads to virtually no excitement as you advance. ~ Kyle Knight, All Game GuideReview: Overall
Although technically a solid shooter, 2010 lacks elements to distinguish itself from others in the genre. The gameplay system offers responsive controls and a variety of regular enemies as well as some interesting bosses to overcome. Most shooters offer additional features, however. In this game there are no options, no special modes, and not even a way to upgrade your weapon from its basic dual-shot configuration.Levels are poorly designed and paced. Most successful shooters begin with light difficulty and escalate the action by introducing enemies with more powerful or bigger weapons, sending enemies in combinations, and increasing the sheer numbers of enemies. 2010 never gets much beyond the first method -- enemies don't work together and rarely do you encounter more than two at the same time. As a result, difficulty never increases beyond the easy level. This combined with the lack of power-ups, saps the game of all entertainment value a few minutes after play.
2010 also has a rather unique coloring problem. Apparently the game's developers were infatuated with yellow and it's everywhere! Shots are yellow, all the ships are painted half yellow, everything on the ground is half yellow, even the lines that make up the background graphics are predominantly yellow, although they do mix with other colors. Whatever the reason for the fixation on yellow, the end result is that of a glaring eyesore.
Over-saturated yellow graphics aside, the rest of 2010's appearance is fairly good. The backgrounds have some interesting designs and enemies show several different artistic influences. The screen scrolls smoothly and the movement of the ship is fluid as well. The only visual problem not related to the color yellow is that backgrounds tend to recycle entirely too much and give the impression of flying over the same strip of land repeatedly. With the lack of gameplay options and visual shortcomings, 2010 never reaches its potential. ~ Kyle Knight, All Game Guide
