"A good game, but it has its flaws."

Introduction:
Maelstrom is an action game for the Macintosh set in the future. You are to destroy the asteroids in each level without getting destroyed yourself!

Controls: 9/10
Seeing as you can customize the controls, you have no real excuse to complain about them. The controls in this game are pretty much everything you need: movement, shields, and guns.

Gameplay: 5/10
Gameplay is generally smooth, but sometimes you will narrowly avoid hitting an asteroid and die anyways. This is not preventable, and will really annoy you sometimes. There also seems to be a lot of space beyond the edge of your screen in which you can die pretty easily.

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics are pretty basic, but they don't need to be perfect for the type of game that this is. The ship animation looks good (for some reason I always think that the ship looks like clay), and the asteroids and other things in the level are pretty good too. The background, though, is pretty boring, but seeing as how the game takes place in outer space, the background is acceptable.

Sounds and Music: 7/10
The music is really boring. It is just a couple of beats repeated over and over again. You should probably just pop in your own music instead.
The sound effects, however, are generally pretty good. They have good sounds in the right place. The ship thrusting sounds like a ship thrusting, and when you die, the sound is great. I like the laugh when you get a Game Over.

Extra In-Game Things: 8/10
By this I am talking about things like Comets, Bonus Multipliers, and Shenobi Mines. These things add a lot of fun to the game, and they are essential to the value of this game. What fun would it be if you only blasted asteroids? The game is a lot more fun and harder with the addition of the supernovas, the mines, the steel asteroids, and, of course, the little shooting flying saucers. Also, there are some really awesome bonuses like the extra-life, bonus additions, bonus multipliers, and the weapon/shield/ship upgrades. This adds a lot to the fun level of the game.

Fun Level: 8/10
As far as I know, there is no limit to the number of waves (levels) that this game has. That means that you can always try to get a little farther or beat your highest score. You can even jump straight to any of the first forty waves if you want. You will enjoy blasting the asteroids apart, even though it seems so simple.

Overall Score: 7/10
Except for occasionally dying when you know you should have lived, this game is pretty cool. It is surprisingly addictive and you will enjoy playing it for several weeks, then take a break, and play it some more. It is really a lot of fun.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/04