Zone Warrior

Written by AtariCrypt

It might look unoriginal but who cares?

A belting title screen.

Pick-ups are pretty cool but something like the Map parts is essential for this huge platformer!!

I really enjoyed the prehistoric levels with dinos and cool methods used to avoid them!

The graphics and music may change but the gameplay is pretty darn familiar for each level...

Originally released on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 @ AtariCypt

Comments

Once again, pesky aliens are giving us Earthlings lots of grief. We previously fought them off but they managed to pinch a time machine so are using that to alter history and wreak havoc by taking crucial hostages from each period in an attempt to halt their influence. From the invention of the wheel in prehistoric times to England's King Arthur uniting Britain! And where would any of us be today without Japan and its technical wizardry? Yep, we cannot allow this - the fight is on!

So, brace yourself... it's our job to travel the various time zones and rescue everybody we can. Whilst there, we may as well kill each and every bad dude that gets in our way. Yup, it's time to save the day again so let's lock and load!!


Playing The Game

Zone Warrior is a MASSIVE horizontally scrolling platformer that reminded me of Psygnosis' Baal in looks with (more than) a hint of Turrican-style action. Each zone is a labyrinth of large rooms interconnected by a series of complicated doorways. There is a total of five timezones that need to be saved from the dreaded aliens and they are:

Prehistoric - I really enjoyed this zone because it introduces you nicely into the gameplay style plus there are lots of power-ups and strong map designs compared to most other levels. I also thought the graphics were the best here with great use of the palette.
Egyptian - This is is little disappointing for me because it's basically more of the same design but with different graphics. However, I found it to be a lot harder and rather frustrating instead of anything close to an enjoyable challenge...
Medieval - Saving the medieval Britons from their alien fate is a brilliant level and definitely on par with the Prehistoric Zone. I must admit, the music here is so gorgeous!
Japanese - I would rate this as the best level of all because it is really challenging, with some great mechanics. Unlike the finicky Egyptian Zone, I found it tough but without that frustration. And the chip music is out of this world!!
Holocaust - Sadly I didn't care for this zone... Very frustrating and ultimately annoying!

Travelling through most zones is a neat experience with constant action to keep your trigger finger happy. During this onslaught, look for hostages to free and a key for a final battle before you can progress to the next zone.

Each of these periods has its own nasties to contend with and some cannot be killed so avoid them - like the Venus flytraps and sharp spikes. However, most have legs or teeth so have your trusty Turrican-inspired weapon at the ready. This is a rapid-firing gun that performs well and can even be upgraded with a wider spread. Also, the spacebar is used to cycle through any extra weapons you may have picked up like bombs and mines. Experiment but use wisely.


Graphics & Sounds

The visuals aren't the best I've seen from my lovely Atari ST which isn't due to their quality but the lack of variety. The backdrops are nice but could have made better use of the palette for things like destructible blocks. Most sprites are well-drawn and detailed, especially the stripy dinos from the Prehistoric Zone. The scrolling is very good and perfectly responsive to our hero's fast/leaping movements, which is obviously essential to a running-gunner-shooter like this. The Medieval and Japanese zones looked the best, I thought. Sexy visuals!

The audio is a blast with great sound effects used throughout. However, it's the music I really loved because everything is composed by Barry Leitch who created a wealth of fantastic chiptunes. Show-stompingly brilliant audio!!


Overall

The trouble with Zone Warrior is that it's all too easy to lose your bearings. The levels are absolutely huge and wandering from room to room can be overwhelming. This is due to the lack of distinctive visuals so each area soon begins to feel repetitive. Thankfully, our little zone warrior can collect pieces of a map to help prevent him from getting lost but I personally thought this was poorly implemented. Yes, I lost my bearings!

Okay, with a little more variation in the graphics, to help distinguish between the locations, this would have knocked the spots of other platform shooters. Zone Warrior is a great game with interesting mechanics and incredibly responsive joystick controls. Okay, it might whiff of cheap Turrican perfume but I must say I have really enjoyed being a Zone Warrior.

Zone Warrior is a fantastic shooter and comes highly recommended.

Score

• Graphics: 7
• Sound: 8
• Gameplay: 8
• Overall: 8