¢SOFTWARE SCENE - ISSUE 9¢¢PART 4¢¢¢¢DESERT FALCON¢by Atari Corporation¢¢Reviewed by John McIntyre¢¢¢ There have been many variations on the Zaxxon theme - Desert Falcon is another. It is set in ancient Egypt with you cast in the role of a large falcon who can fire laser type arrows; ahh - the power of computerised imagination! While flying along you must dodge through pyramids and kill or dodge on-coming baddies which appear in the form of flying fish, mini-sphinx's and phantom gliders to name but a few.¢¢ On power up of the cartridge you are presented with a rather plain title screen consisting of text and some lines which I think are supposed to represent wings behind the game title. Despite this bland opening, the game gives you all the action that should be in a game of this genre. The graphics are good with smooth scrolling and real nice flight animation. The sound consists of typical blasts and explosions; the type of noises that give you a real feel of death and destruction (I just love blasting things...!).¢¢ Don't get me wrong though: On no accounts is Desert Falcon "just another blaster". It incorporates a neat way of collecting your power-ups. As you travel diagonally up the screen you'll come across hieroglyphs which can be picked up. Once you have three you'll be rewarded with either points or a super power depending upon which hieroglyphs you have. A double-press of the fire button will take the points or power-up. Beware though, as there are a couple of powers which are more of a hinderence than a help. For example, 'shackles' stops you from being able to hop on the ground.¢¢ At the end of each level you are confronted by a howling sphinx which spits fireballs at you. The 'hold sphinx' power-up comes in handy here as it stops the sphinx from firing. It only takes one hit to destroy the sphinx but it must be right between the eyes! This isn't as difficult as it sounds; especially after you've had a few games.¢¢ To conclude this review I'd say that Desert Falcon is a must buy for any Atari owner. It is one of the best variations on Zaxxon I've seen. If you don't own Zaxxon and you're finding it difficult to get hold of then Desert Falcon more than makes up as an alternative.¢¢¢Futura Rating:¢¢Graphics 85%¢Sound 77%¢Playability 93%¢Overall Value 87%¢¢¢Game Title: DESERT FALCON¢Publisher: Atari Corporation¢Price (P&P extra):¢ 4.50 pounds (Gralin International)¢ 4.99 pounds (Miles Better Software)¢ $9.95 (B&C ComputerVisions)¢
