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I got this classic shoot 'em up for Christmas 1986, and the first thing I recall was that it came in a small single cassette box rather than the then common (and somewhat needless) double cassette box. It was also the Commodore 64 game THEY said couldn't be converted onto the Spectrum, and once more THEY were proved wrong! Predictably monochrome - full colour would have been a disaster - the graphics were nonetheless much sharper than the C64 equivalent and, vitally, moved just as smoothly. A brilliant - if rock hard - shooter.

Uridium was the game they said could never be converted to the ZX Spectrum. The Commodore 64 classic just could not be replicated on the Speccy, nope it just was not possible.

Up stepped Hewson Consultants (and developer Dominic Robinson) to prove that theory wrong.

This classic arcade game was finally released for the ZX Spectrum in December of 1986 to lots of high praise.


ZX Spectrum Games Uridium
The whole back story to Uridium (every good arcade game has one!) was to do with different battlecruisers (called Dreadnaughts) were moving into orbit around various planets to prepare for invasion.

Each Dreadnaught required vast amounts of fuel and would get it by tapping planetary cores and draining them of valuable minerals. Of course this would destroy the planet and no-doubt annoy the inhabitants a tad in the meantime.

To prevent the destruction of these planets, it was up to you (as always in classic arcade fashion) to take these giant space leviathans down.

The class and effort put into developing Uridium on the Sinclair Spectrum was apparent as soon as the game loaded. The way the text was displayed, the nice synth theme tune and the rather cool high score table all oozed class and polish.

The impressive title screen and high score table in Uridium:

video

Armed with nothing more than your trusty Manta space fighter (you had three to play with) you had to fly across each Dreadnaught inflicting as much damage as possible whilst destroying or evading the squadrons of enemy fighters sent to destroy you. The cards were dealt, the odds were against you, cue dark and forboding music.....

Your Manta was a nifty little beast. It was armed with front firing lazers and was incredibly fast and agile. It would zip across the surface of a dreadnaught at breakneck speed and you needed almost inhuman arcade reflexes to pilot it effectively.

Scrolling from left to right you had to make to the far end of the enemy cruiser, destroying as much of the surface of it as possible. You could make the Manta peform a nifty loop and turn allowing you to fly over the dreadnaught in both directions.

Skimming over a dreadnaught
Wave after wave of enemy squadrons would be sent to destroy you and taking out an entire 'wave' earned you bonus points. Some types of enemy fighters seemed to be more deadly than others - sometimes the best ploy was to 'loop back' and take them out from behind. Sneaky.

There were plenty of obstacles to avoid on the surface such as pylons, high walls and so on. In some areas you would have to fly through a narrow passage by making your manta turn onto it's side - it was too wide to fit through otherwise!

Homing mines would also launch from pods on the dreadnaught and chase after you - relentlessly homing in on your craft until they either self destructed or took you out. Fancy flying was needed to outwit these boys.

Each dreadnaught was named after a different element (the one they would drain from the core) so you be taking on Zinc, Copper, Gold etc. The final dreadnaught was the ultra-precious Uridium - and destroying it meant completing the game.

After destroying a certain on the surface of the dreadnaught (such as parked fighters, gun emplacements, domes etc) the signal 'Land Now!' would appear. Making your way to the right most end of the huge ship and landing on the strip there would ensure the destruction of the dreadnaught. After collecting your end of level bonus it was on to the next ship - and believe me each one was more difficult than the last.

On Release:
Uridium had been highly anticipated before it was released and many felt that it would not do justice to the Commodore 64 original. Well they needn't have worried as ZX Spectrum version was nothing short of brilliant. From the excellent menu screens right through the smooth scrolling bas-relief graphics and fast gameplay, Uridium was a top class arcade game. The gameplay was spot on and touches like your Manta's shadow on the surface of the dreadnaught demonstrated the effort that Dominic Robinson had put into the game. Class.

The test of time:
Okay, Uridium is a simple shoot em up. But here in Spectrum Games we reckon it still holds up pretty well. The scrolling is plenty smooth (and very impressive for a ZX Spectrum) and the gameplay is ultra frantic. There is a challenge in here and Uridium is still fun and full of action. A bona fide classic arcade game.

Go on, pretend you are Han Solo and stick it on. It's Uridillant!

We recommend getting hold of the real Sinclair hardware but if not then download a ZX Spectrum Emulator and download Uridium for the ZX Spectrum. Alternatively you could try and play it online.

GENRE: Arcade Game
RELEASE DATE: December of 1986
RELEASED BY: Hewson Consultants
DEVELOPER(S): Dominic Robinson (Andrew Braybrook developed the original)
PRICE: £8.95 - UK

The Commodore game they said couldn't be done on the Spectrum has finally arrived. Dominic Robinson, a newcomer to the Hewson fold of programmers, has converted Uridium from the original that was designed and written by Andy Braybrook.

High above a planet's surface huge battle cruisers called Dreadnaughts silently move into combat position. The reason for this sudden and unannounced invasion is simple; the Dreadnaughts need vast amounts of fuel. In order to get it, they must tap planetary cores and drain them of minerals. Naturally, this will result in the destruction of each planet in the sector if nothing is done.

Your task as a super pilot is to fly your nifty Manta over the Dreadnaughts and make space safe by destroying each one in turn. The odds are stacked heavily against you but size is on your side. The Manta is small and versatile enough to fly very close to the Dreadnaughts and it can attack the fighters that patrol the ship's hull. The aim is to wipe out all the ancillary craft, inflict as much damage as possible and destroy the giant space ships.

However, there is a severe drawback to this plan of action. Those fighter pilots aren't just going to sit back and let you get away with all this carnage and mayhem - they're out in force and they're gunning for you. Luckily your Manta has been equipped with powerful lasers which don't need recharging and can make short work of a fighter craft - if you're quick enough to catch it that is.

A shrill siren lets you know when an attack wave is imminent, but you never know whether this attack is coming from the front or if it's going to be a crafty assault from behind. Whichever it is, you must keep your wits about you and remain cool at all times. Bonus points are awarded for destroying a complete wave of fighters.

As well as the fighters zooming in to attack there is an added danger: the Dreadnaught hulls are a veritable obstacle course sprouting ariels, flanges and ducts. Sometimes sheer walls of metal rise up to meet you as you pilot your Manta at great speed - these can be identified by the shadows they cast on the hull. If your Manta crashes into an obstacle it is destroyed, and one of your three lives is lost. Some hull features can also be shot, adding to the amount of destruction inflicted on the huge mother ship.

Homing mines present another problem. Automatic launchers are activated when your Manta flies over them, and when they turn red they release a mine which chases your craft. A lot of quick evasive manoeuvering is called for to escape a mine.

To avoid some of the obstacles on the hull you must fly at right angles and squeeze through some tight gaps. Holding down fire and moving up or down flips the Manta sideways and slowing down brings the Manta back to its normal aspect. If you slow down and stop, the Manta loops and rolls to face in the other direction - a useful evasive manoeuvre. Looping also lifts the craft momentarily higher off the surface of the Dreadnaught, which might help to avoid an enemy fighter or an obstacle.

After your Manta has been in flight for a while the words 'Land Now' flash up at the top of the screen, accompanied by another siren. You now have to fly your Manta to the end of the Dreadnaught where there is a landing strip. Once you have set your craft down neatly on this landing strip, you automatically progress to the next Dreadnaught where the fun starts all over again.

There are fifteen Dreadnaughts to destroy. Each one has a different layout, more features and more attack waves for you to deal with - if you like you can play the two player option with a fellow pilot and race to save the universe...

Producer: Hewson
Price: £8.95
Author: Andrew Braybrook and Dominic Robinson



Nasty alien pilots do their best to thwart our Cam as his Manta zooms along the hull of the first mineral-thieving space leviathan

CRITICISM
"Wowee!! This game is absolutely mega. I don't care how well it compares to the Commodore version, because it's probably the best shoot em up that I've ever seen on a Spectrum. The graphics are brilliant, with some excellent scrolling, which of course isn't up to the standard of the 64 version, but it is quite stunning for the Spectrum. The title tune is very good, and the game moves at a frantic pace, often resulting in cries of 'What hit me?' and 'it missed!', but this is all jolly good, destructive fun, and that's what I like about it."

"I really didn't expect Uridium to be up to the standards of the Commodore version, and it isn't - but it is an extremely good, fast translation. The graphics are very well done, but the monochromatic display can make it difficult to see the action. The scrolling is very fast and smooth, but I found that the Manta took quite a long time to respond when turning around. The sound consists of a good title tune and decent spot effects during the game. Overall, a first rate shoot em up."

"I can't really say that I was looking forward to seeing this on the Spectrum as so many games C64 games die when they're converted for our faithful Sinclair. Thankfully there is still plenty of life in Uridium ZX - admittedly it has lost its colour and some of its sound but it's one of the best shoot em ups around. The speed at which the game plays is truly amazing, the screen scrolls at a tremendous rate and nothing slows down when a load of nasties come on the screen. The graphics are excellent, and everything is superbly drawn. The sound too is top hole: the tune on the title screen is marvellous and there are some worthy sound effects during the game. If you are a shoot em up freak then go out and buy this, you're not going to see better for a long while."



Those black gaps in the middle of the runway were enemy fighters until our Cam blasted them. Always going for the High Score, our Cam. Better watch out for those pylon doobries at the top and bottom of the screen, though

COMMENTS
Control keys: Left Z, Right X, Up L, Down SYMBOL SHIFT, FIRE ENTER, Pause P
Joystick: Kempston
Keyboard play: joystick is easier
Use of colour: mainly monochromatic
Graphics: very neat fast scrolling
Sound: really exciting and useful spot effects plus a tune at the beginning
Skill levels: one
Screens: scrolling play area
General rating: A very worthy version of a fast-moving shoot em up.


Use of computer 89%
Graphics 89%
Playability 90%
Getting started 89%
Addictive qualities 90%
Value for money 88%
Overall 90%

Initial copies of the Spectrum version only supported the Kempston joystick protocol, rather than the Sinclair system which was the only one available to users of the then-new +2 models. After complaint from several people who'd bought the game and only been able to play it using the keyboard, Hewson altered the code.