Hellraider

Hellraider is a Shoot 'Em Up game, developed by Frames and published by ARC (Atari UK), which was released for Amiga in 1989.

I can’t say I was particularly impressed by Hellraider which is another run-of-the-mill shoot’em-up, with not a lot else to offer. The games manual is very large, and there’s a huge section describing the story behind the game, but after you’ve read it you’ll do exactly the same as before, and shoot anything that isn’t you. The controls are very awkward, and moving in to the right position to fire at something can become annoying.

The graphics is well defined, but rather small and boring due to the use of colour. The aliens are of a kind shot countless times before, and the game looks dated. The sound is minimal with the usual zaps and bangs but nothing oustanding. A nice piece of music on the title screen.

What’s worse, is that the gameplay is uninteresting and dull. Scooting around the planet’s surface soon gets repetitive, and attacking the odd alien base did nothing to relieve the tedium either. Basically, Hellraider is a very dull shoot’em-up that would be more suited to an 8-bit machine, and offers nothing new or original. Not something I’d rush out and buy.

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