Demon Attack

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine..."

Desperate times call for desperate measures. When you're trapped in a corner and your back is pressed flat against the wall, what will you do? Will you succumb to whatever's attacking you, admitting defeat and letting yourself be swept away in the ensuing madness? Or will you gather your mettle and attempt to fight back, to make a last stand in some shred of hope that you live to see the day? In the end, it's not a question of bravery or skill. After you take away the glory of an epic victory or crushing defeat, the only thing that really matters is your will to survive. When you're faced with a dire situation, it's not a question of the likelihood of death; it's a question of how much you want to live.

Welcome to the world of Krybor, where your once majestic spaceship now lays in flaming ruin. As you take a step back and ponder how you'll get off this godforsaken wasteland, a loud shriek pierces the alien sky. A massive horde of evil demon creatures have gathered over the crash site, their pixilated eyes trained on your tender flesh. Unfortunately, there's nobody around to save you, no photon torpedoes or fancy teleportation devices anywhere in sight. All you have left is a dinky little laser cannon, with barely any range or power behind its shots. However, you can't stop and whine about your seemingly hopeless situation. The flocks of demons swoop down for the kill, ready to tear you asunder. With your ship in pieces and no help in sight, all your only option is to take aim and shoot down every alien that comes careening toward you. The only thing standing between you and oblivion is some skill, speed, and an itchy trigger finger. Good luck.

The demons will start attacking in groups of three, their massive multicolored wings beating against the air. They'll float around almost aimlessly, wafting around the sky at awkward angles and avoiding your line of fire. As soon as you shoot one of the monsters down, another will materialize in its place, letting you get another chance to vaporize your dangerous foe. Once you've shot enough of the baddies out of the sky, new beasts will emerge onto the battlefield, their varied sizes and shapes something to truly ponder. For each wave of attacking demons that you defeat, you'll be awarded with an additional Reserve Bunker, which nothing more than a fancy euphemism for an extra life. Though the starting creatures are a little slow and rather easy to annihilate, their later brethren will prove to be a much greater threat. Most demons will spit a few pixel pellets toward you, each of which can be avoided without much effort. But you'll also have to deal with beings that can blast some lethal death rays from their mouths, forcing you to zoom in and out of the line of fire during your crusade. Also, some demons will split in half when hit, creating two tiny creatures. Though these little munchkins don't seem so dangerous, their smaller bodies make for difficult targets with better agility than the other enemies. Once these have managed to fly down close enough, they'll emit an ear-splitting shriek of victory that can send even the bravest warriors running for their mommies.

As you find yourself weaving to and fro across the battlefield, you can only gaze in wonder at the spectacular and deadly creatures that are trying to kill you. Unlike the bland spaceships and giant blobs that we've come to expect with Atari shooting games, the villains of Demon Attack come in a wide and varied range of shapes and sizes, from leathery winged beasts to the tiny bloodsuckers that will plague your final seconds of life. Some will come with massive mouths and tentacle stalk eyes, while others will bare their razor-sharp fangs at you. Though the graphical capabilities of the Atari 2600 limit the imagery to primitive clusters of colors, you can still make out enough of the shape and physique of the monsters to use your imagination and visualize your epic last stand to the death. The vibrant colors and shapes create a beautiful battlefield filled with some of the liveliest foes ever seen on the console. Also, the constant beeping in the background serves as a basic form of music, going at a pace that could be the demons breathing, your heart thumping, or just about anything else your stressed mind can come up with. As you take out more enemies, the tempo quickens from a slow pace to a beat fast enough to make your adrenaline rush and cause you to panic and lose control. If the endless supply of baddies wasn't enough to get your blood boiling, this simple beat of sound effects will keep you on your toes long after you've mastered the mystical art of demon annihilation.

But what will happen to this incredible portrayal of desperation and survival? Sadly, the game has gone unnoticed, the spotlight focused on more popular and better-known games. The concept of Demon Attack is derived from the tried and true formula that made Space Invaders, Galaxian, and countless other space shooters the treasured classics they are today. It's not a bad gaming formula, but it's been used and rehashed beyond the point of originality. When you look back at the Atari 2600 library, you have to wonder just how many games came from the simple concept of a gun and an endless flow of alien scum. Few games have taken the concept and worked with it, only producing pathetic remakes with only graphical and storyline touchups to add some flavor to the bland genre. However, some games did manage to take an old idea, warp it into something fresh, and unleash it upon the unsuspecting legions of gamers the world over. Thankfully, Demon Attack shines in its own right, its unique enemies and challenge something that caters to the old school gaming fans deep within us all.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/05/05