Colony 7 Longplay (Arcade Game)
3- Colony 7 Longplay (Arcade Game) -
To be frank, Colony 7 was a game that irked me during the arcade days, and I actively avoided it. How can I put it? I found it... Unfair! Your cannons are left dangerously exposed, devoid of any protection, and frantically shooting back and forth doesn't provide adequate safety, resulting in a frustratingly brief defense.
It honestly drove me to the brink of madness - I can't deny that. It was thanks to Taito Legends that I gave the game another chance and got to know it a bit better.
Upon revisiting it, I still found it to be a game that gets under my skin, but one that can be reasonably enjoyed for a few minutes. The key is to meticulously track the Fighters' movements (no worries, they'll trick you eventually, lol) and choose the right moment to blast the alien spaceship.
If your gunsight is too distant, ensure you can shoot down the bomb it drops before it wipes out either cannon. The colony you're tasked to protect is ultimately destined for destruction, but you can certainly make the invaders work for it.
In essence, it's just another 'play-for-the-high-score' game, much like many from that era, borrowing elements from more renowned shooters such as Missile Command or space shooters like Galaga and Galaxian (I honestly don't see much resemblance to Space Invaders, as many claim). While I no longer dislike it as vehemently as I once did, I still believe it had plenty of room for improvement, potentially elevating it to the status of a little '80s space shooter classic.
Last but not least, it's true, you are equipped with two one-single-use special weapons per life, both capable of eliminating all enemies around you. The more potent one wipes out fiends across the entire screen, while the weaker one targets the lower zone. However, their impact is somewhat limited, as 10 seconds later, the screen is once again filled with enemy spaceships.
An interesting tidbit is that the original arcade version featured an innovation allowing players to buy more of such special weapons by adding more credits at the start of the game. Personally, I consider that cheating, and you'll never catch me using such 'benefits.' I mention it as a fun fact, but that's where it ends.
Ps. Game starts at 1:13.
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