Thinking back this game was a fore runner of the modern space RTS genre. Planning your moves on the map, then heading out to do battle. Reminds me of that Empire at War game that was on PC a few years ago.

Yeah, definitely one of the all-time greats.

I do have some very fond memories of this game, clearing the map over and over again. Good times.

I'm surprised about how young I was playing this game.  It always seemed so complicated but I loved it anyways.

"I'm surprised about how young I was playing this game.  It always seemed so complicated but I loved it anyways."

I was in awe of my dad, who could actually complete the game on the difficulty levels where you actually had to steer!  He would lean back in his chair when trying to pull out of a photon collision before he got with his shields down. 

I got smarter with the keyboard (I wonder if it helped me find keys on the keyboard) and now I can usually get the top rating in one or two tries, which blows my mind considering how hard I thought it was back then. 

I keep hoping someone will capitalize on the formula and try something similar, but a lot of these modern types of games tend to be weighed down in a lot of distractions.  This game was all about jumping in, slamming the bad guys hard and quick, and moving on, with an eye on the fuel gauge :)

The physics are a bit off (it's a bit strange to be able to turn in place and dodge shots) but it still plays great :)

You all may think this is weird, but I'm really enjoying these screen interpretations.

I used to play the Atari 2600 version, and I was understandably confused.

All I knew about the game was pressing the action button would make a noise I could only onomatopoeia as K'DYOOM, K'DYOOM.

Oddly enough, it looks even MORE primitive on an Atari 2600, and that's saying a lot, considering the 400/800 version.