''Arcadia'' is a

fixed shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...

published by

Imagine Software Imagine Software was a British video games developer based in Liverpool which existed briefly in the early 1980s, initially producing software for the ZX Spectrum and VIC-20. The company rose quickly to prominence and was noted for its polishe ...

for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit entry level home computer that was sold by Commodore International, Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commod ...

in 1983. It was later ported to the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and

Dragon 32 The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are 8-bit home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer, and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., initially in Swansea, Wales, before mo ...

Gameplay

left, Level 1 on the ZX Spectrum ''Arcadia'' combines elements of ''

Gorf ''Gorf'' is an arcade video game released in 1981 by Midway Manufacturing. It is a fixed shooter with five distinct levels, the first of which is based on ''Space Invaders'' and another on ''Galaxian''. The game makes use of synthesized speech ...

'' and ''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of alien ...

''. The player controls a space ship as the aliens scroll and move freely down the screen. The game consists of 12 different levels of descending aliens. After level 12 the game loops back to level 1 with no extra difficulty. An extra life is rewarded after every four levels. Advancing to the next level involves staying alive until the timer in the top left corner ticks from 99 to 0. Once zero is reached the surviving aliens descend rapidly down the screen. Points awarded per alien destroyed are in line with the current level: Shoot down an alien on level 1 and you are awarded 1 point, roll around the levels and the same alien killed on level 13 is now worth 13 points.

Ports

Early VIC-20 versions contain a bug causing aliens to stop appearing after the eighth level. This was fixed by the publisher. The Commodore 64 cassette version has this warning on the loading screen: "Please wait 18 minutes for loading."

Reception

''ZX Computing'' said it was "highly addictive and well presented", ''

Computer & Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot webs ...

'' said "it lives up to the advertisement

blurb A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dust jacket of a book. With the development ...

and gives you a good addictive game of Space Attack" - rating it 8 out of 10. ''

Popular Computing Weekly ''Popular Computing Weekly'' was a computer magazine in the UK published from 1982 to 1990. It was sometimes referred to as ''PCW'' (although that abbreviation is more commonly associated with ''Personal Computer World'' magazine). Overv ...

'' were particularly impressed with the graphics, stating that they "have no equal in the Spectrum field," and "lift this game into a class of its own", rating it 86%.Popular Computing review of Arcadia page 2
/ref>

References

External links

*{{WoS_game, id=0000237, name=Arcadia 1983 video games Commodore 64 games Dragon 32 games Fixed shooters Imagine Software games Single-player video games VIC-20 games Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games