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### Lead 8K Preview [Atari 2600]

#### http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=108514/

#### Reviewed By J. Monkman

Originally starting its life as an Atari 2600 entry for the 2007 Minigame Comp (results as yet unannounced), Lead is Simone Serra's accomplished attempt to bring modern-style shooter game-play to the humble VCS. As a result of the huge amount of interest and feedback received from Atari Age forum regulars after submitting the 1Kb game, Simone is in the process of creating an extended 8Kb version - and after extensively playing this preview I believe that Lead is destined to become the benchmark against which other homebrew shooters will be judged.

The 1Kb version of Lead (and that's 'Lead' as in the antonym of follow, and not the dense metal) is essentially a simple vertical shooter; the game-play is restricted within a tunnel (using animated borders to give the impression of rapid movement) and your goal is to prevent the advancing enemies from reaching the bottom of the screen. Holding down the fire button unleashes a constant stream of bullets, so you generally play the game by sweeping back and forth across the play area, unleashing an unending wave of plasma at the alien aggressors. Sounds easy? Well, it would be, but aliens are randomly assigned different strengths; the alien sprites vary in colour, and the darker the colour of the enemy the more hits it'll take to destroy. This combined with the frantic speed of the game results in the player having to think quick, prioritise and concentrate their fire strategically - and in all, it's a great blast. For a 1Kb game, lead is outstanding and tipped as a favourite to win the competition. To add variation the alien sprites and colour scheme changes after every 100 kills, and the second wave introduces enemies that move horizontally as well as descending - but the really outstanding area of the game is the excellent in-game soundtrack that appears to be syncopated to the action (with subtle changes made to the melody as a result of each kill).

This work-in-progress 8Kb version introduces so many new elements to the game that I find it hard to believe that this is a 2600 release I'm reviewing, let alone one that would fit into an 8Kb cartridge. For a start there are now four different level types; the standard 'Fire' stages (which play like the original 1Kb release), 'Dodge' levels where you have to avoid asteroids, a 'Scramble' stage where the tunnel twists and narrows (and you need to avoid hitting the sides) and finally a 'Catch' bonus stage (which is essentially the opposite of the Dodge level, but with bonuses). The tunnel now twists and turns and the difficulty has been cranked up a notch - it'll require a lot of practice to complete all 20 stages. Everything about the game has been refined and polished; a comprehensive options screen has been added, as well as smart bombs, a power-up system, an animated title screen, intro and end-game sequences and even an attract mode. Not only that, but the original competition version has been included as an additional extra. Like I said, it's hard to believe this is a 2600 homebrew game we're talking about here and not a release for a later generation console.

Although Simone has been solely responsible for the game's code, a lot of the ideas and changes implemented since the 1Kb version are the result of suggestions posted on the Atari Age forum by VCS enthusiasts - it's interesting to read through the posts and see how the game has evolved along with player comments and requests. This kind of community feedback-lead development (excuse the pun) often produces excellent results, and Lead is no exception to this rule - even in it's unfinished state it is already one of (if not the) best shoot 'em ups for the console. If the final game is released on cartridge (fingers crossed) I'll be one of the first in line to buy myself a copy - even though it'll mean purchasing a 2600 to play it on...