''Uridium 2'' is a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
themed, horizontally
scrolling shooter
In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text ...
designed and programmed by
Andrew Braybrook
Andrew Braybrook (born 1960) is a software engineer and former game programmer. He created video games such as ''Paradroid'', ''Gribbly's Day Out'', '' Fire and Ice'', ''Uridium'' and '' Morpheus''. He also programmed the Commodore Amiga and At ...
for the
Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...
. It was published by
Renegade Software in 1993. ''Uridium 2'' is the sequel to Braybrook's
Commodore 64 game ''
Uridium
''Uridium'' (released on the NES as ''The Last Starfighter'') is a science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up originally designed by Andrew Braybrook for the Commodore 64, and later ported to other 8-bit machines. It consists of fifteen levels ...
''. Braybrook kept a diary of the game's development in late 1992, which was published in the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English ...
computer magazine ''
The One
The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung ...
''.
Gameplay
left, Screenshot from the first level
''Uridium 2'' retains the same setting and gameplay of the original ''Uridium'', but the presentation is highly improved, thanks to the Amiga's advanced graphics and sound capabilities. The
sprites and background objects are more detailed and more colourful, the game scrolls vertically as well as horizontally, and the sound includes a souped-up version of the original ''Uridium'' theme tune, as well as
PCM
Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM stream, the a ...
sampled speech (voiced by Emma Cubberley) announcing important in-game events.
Gameplay improvements include a simultaneous two-player mode,
power-up
In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chos ...
s left behind by shooting enemies, a radar screen at the bottom of the game screen, and an improved
mini-game
A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
when the player reaches the dreadnought's reactor core: instead of a simple quick-draw test to disarm the reactor, the player now gets to actually shoot at the reactor core using a
drone pilot. In addition, the play area is greatly increased due to the larger size of the dreadnoughts and the addition of vertical scrolling.
References
External links
''Uridium 2''at Lemon Amiga
''Uridium 2''at Amiga Hall of Light
1993 video games
Horizontally scrolling shooters
Science fiction video games
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Amiga games
Amiga-only games
{{scroll-shooter-videogame-stub
Multiplayer and single-player video games