Entry posted by SpiceWare
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Thrust+ Platinum, by Thomas Jentzsch
5/5
In Thrust+ Platinum you are part of The Resistance, who is about to make a major offensive against the Intergalactic Empire. Your mission is to maneuver your ship through underground caverns and tunnels in order to acquire Klystron Pods that are needed to power The Resistance's starships. As if gravity and tight spaces weren't enough, the Empire has strategically placed nuclear powered Limpet guns along your path.
When you first turn it on - wow - who knew the Atari could sound so good! Paul Slocum, of Tree Wave(a duo that uses an Atari VCS as one of their instruments), really outdid himself with the title screen music. Emulators play it back OK, but it's best heard on a real Atari.
The graphics are done in a "vector" style; which, while pixelated, work just fine(it's also the way the original Thrust was created back in 87). There's occasional flicker, but it's kept to a minimum and not at all distracting when it does occur. The striped background works well to hide the chunkiness of the Atari's playfield graphics.
The flight physics are exceptionally well done, the gravity and acceleration feel just like a modern video game. It really shines once you've acquired a Klystron Pod - the heavy pod swinging on the end of a tether reminds me a lot of Space Duel's joined ship mode.
The controls are a tad complicated at first, due to the fire button changing function from "fire" to "thrust" when you've pulled the stick down to activate your shield/tractor beam. You get used to it after a few games and it becomes second nature. Besides the Joystick you can use a CBS Booster Grip, a Driving Controller + Foot Pedals or even a Joystick + Foot Pedals. While I don't have foot pedals, I recently acquired a CBS Booster Grip so I gave it a spin for this review. The Booster Grip adds 2 buttons in a flight stick handle that slides down over the joystick. One button is used for thrust, the other for fire and they do not change function based on the state of the shield/tractor beam. While it was neat, I'd played so often with just a joystick that I kept pushing forward for thrust(probably also influenced by many years of playing Space War).
There's excellent ramping of the difficulty level. The first level is very basic, just a Fuel Cell, a Limpet Gun, Nuclear Plant and Klystron Pod in a shallow cave - just enough to learn the basics without having to fly through any narrow tunnels. Each level after that increases the number of Limpet Guns and enlarges the cave/tunnel system you must navigate to find the Klystron Pod.
The manual and box(yes, a box!) are also top notch, with some excellent artwork by David Exton.
Note: In order to give time for feedback, I'll put this review in the AtariAge store when I post my next review.
Next up, Star Fire
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