
	Platform Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum Genre Action Publisher Hewson Developer Raffaele Cecco Released 1987
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Exolon

With many action games set in outer space these days, the characters seem so nimble, so agile. They're just zipping around all willy-nilly in massive combat armor that must weigh a ton. Even if they're in reduced gravity it's hard to wonder how they're able to move so fast. This all got me thinking about an old Amstrad CPC game, Exolon. It also took place in space, and saw a hero in a big, cumbersome space suit, but he actually moved in a clunky fashion because of his suit, and amazingly, the game was still fun despite this.

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Originally released in 1987, Exolon saw its way to a trio of platforms: the ZX Spectrum, the Commodore 64, and the Amstrad CPC. The game was a very straightforward side scrolling action shooter that had players blasting up a typical array of outer space baddies (ie. aliens), as well as their mechanized arsenals

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(tanks, cannons, land mines, etc.). When players reached approximately the halfway point in a level they were also able to upgrade their body armor to something far more robust in preparation for the far more challenging alien onslaught that laid ahead of them. In order to deal with these enemies players get both a blaster and some rockets to fire at them.

It's actually a bit funny to look back at the visuals of early versions of the game, when the developer's choices for color palette were a bit more limited. As a result, we have a game set in space that sees all sorts of bright, in-your-face colors mashed together like pink, green, bright blue, and so forth. It certainly helps to differentiate all of the stuff going on in the game, but doesn't really lend itself to an assault on a space station, but then again, that was one of the charms of games that came out during this time.

Since its original release in the 80s, Exolon has seen a few remakes on the Amiga, and has recently been redone for Windows courtesy of Retrospec, who has it available for free download. If you've missed out on the game before, perhaps now is the time to check it out.

Mr. Nash
March 23, 2010