Here comes the Super Cobra explosion! Parker is obviously taking the multi-format message to heart and one of the nice benefits for game players is the availability, if not saturation, of Super Cobra for every system short of the Timex/Sinclair.
Super Cobra is a fine adaptation of the Konami coin-op featuring a cannon-firing, bomb-dropping helicopter that must be maneuvered through a horizontally scrolling scenario. Tanks, ack-ack guns and even surface-to-air missiles bristle along the topography and must be dealt with or avoided by deft joystick manipulation as the computer charts the war-chopper's travelled distance in a bar graph at the top of the playfield. Each territory-segment brings a new wrinkle in the play action or difficulty level.
Much of Super Cobra's popularity is owed to the game's navigational challenge. In addition to the ground and ground-to-air targets, the Cobra must be maneuvered through a labyrinthian mountain maze with an ever-expanding offensive capability. This element is perfectly captured in the Atari computer translation, as are the spartan but effective graphics and the martial musical soundtrack. Since the joysticks for these systems have but a single action button, however, it is not possible to reproduce the coin-op's independent cannon and bomber capabilities. A single press of the button accesses both functions instead.
Like the original coin-op, it's also possible to continue a game from the point where it ended, rather than starting over again at the beginning. This is a boon both to compulsive gamers and those who want to see every bit of available playfield in a single, stubborn sitting.
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