Astrobirds

The Good
If you have played Galaxian back in the day, you’ll know what this game is about. Namco’s popular coin-op received ports to popular consoles and microcomputers at the time, but never made its way to the Atom or any other Acorn system. This all changed when Program Power took it upon themselves to create an unofficial clone for the Atom, simply titled Astrobirds. Although it looks and feels like Namco’s game, PP’s version uses a monochrome display and the aliens have been replaced by killer birds.

The game is nicely presented, with instructions telling players how to control the game and the score advance table displayed below this. Big, blocky versions of the birds also accompany this last set of information. Users are also given the option of what speed they want to run the game at; I recommend new players pick the “Slow” option so they can get used to the game, and pick the “Fast” option later, if they want.

As far as the game is concerned, everything looks good. It looks and feels like the arcade game, despite the monochrome display. The scores are listed above the aliens, as you’d expect. The font used to display them looks impressive. The number of lives are next to these scores, but for some reason they count up, not down. Although only one alien can swoop down at you, that is understandable considering the machine’s limited hardware. The sound effects are also fantastic, with most of them matching those of the original arcade game.

The Bad
There is no such thing as explosions in the game; when you are hit by a bird the screen border flashes green repeatedly, and these flashes get worse as one of the sound effects go up in pitch.

The Bottom Line
Program Power did an amazing job creating an impressive clone of Galaxian, mimicking the look and feel of the arcade game. Instructions and speed settings are also thrown in for good measure. The graphics may be in monochrome, but each sprite is drawn nicely and has smooth animations. The sound is also excellent and pushes the Atom’s built-in speaker to its limit. If you are an owner of this machine and love shooters, this one is highly recommended.