Blue Max

This is an aerial combat game with more nice touches than the king's party crown. It proves that wartime flying is never easy but when played on a TV screen can at least be entertaining.

As a World War I flying ace, you have the assignment of taking to the air in your biplane and making war hell for the enemy by strafing and bombing everything in sight along the three-quarter Zaxxon-esque view scrolling landscape. Some targets are necessary to gain you access to the big time in the city but everything both moving and nailed down is absolute kicks to blast. Not that wholesale destruction is a socially acceptable idea of a great time but if you can keep this plane in the air long enough to run up a decent score, you deserve to feel good about it.

Few games give a player so many problems to worry about and overcome at the same time. Beside an enemy that flies at you from both ends while shooting anti-aircraft barrages from the ground, the player must keep a constant eye on the plane's sensitive instrument panel to make sure there is enough air space between the craft and the ground so the biplane doesn't end up plowing furrows. Yet the plane should remain low enough - about 24 to 27 feet - to be able to strafe, bomb effectively and dogfight.

Landing is perhaps the touchiest maneuver called for in Blue Max and requires that the plane be at an altitude of 25 feet when the pilot is alerted to lower the landing gear by pushing the firing button. When the airstrip materializes, the plane must land quickly but carefully on the friendly - but inconveniently short - runway leaving enough room for the next take-off.

While all this is occupying your thoughts, you must save room for something else, too - don't let the plane drop below 20 feet or it's curtains.

It is debatable whether the gameplay or the graphics is the crowning achievement of this excellent 32K disk but both are enhanced by a score of "Rule Britannia" and fine combat sound effects. All things considered, designer Bob Polin has made this a high-flying piece of programming that is pleasantly frustrating, intensely rewarding and, for hours on end, fun.

Try flying in the reverse control mode. This gives the joystick the same guiding functions as an actual airplane.

Originally released by Broderbund Software in 1983, the game is based around the flying exploits of Max Chatsworth, a World War I fighter ace. You control Max – using a joystick – in his fighter-bomber biplane as he seeks revenge for the annihilation of his squadron. Your mission is to shoot down aircraft, bomb ground installations and penetrate the enemy city. Once there, you must bomb the three red or blue flashing targets and land on the next runway to complete the game. Don't worry if you miss a target – you can land and prepare for another assault. The main play area scrolls diagonally from right to left. This, coupled with the shadow of your aircraft, gives an illusion of depth to the screen. Enemy planes constantly buzz you and added to this hazard are anti-aircraft gun emplacements which fill the sky with a hail of flak – survival isn't very easy. Your biplane is very maneuvrable, allowing you to adjust your altitude at any time. This means you can shoot enemy aircraft at any level or reduce your height to between 21 and 25 feet for air-to-ground strafing runs. Be very careful when doing this – if you drop below 19 feet, it's kaboom! Unlike most shoot'em up games, you only have one life. However, your plane can survive hits by enemy fire or flak a number of times before it crashes. A status line at the bottom of the screen reports the plane's condition. For example, F indicates that you have a fuel leak and G means that your machine gun is damaged and will only fire intermittently. Blue Max is a fun game to play and is very addictive. I played it first time around and now it's available on ROM, I can recommend it to everyone.