Outer space, weird creatures, astronauts… doesn’t it sound like one of those cheesy, star game, that can be counted in millions? It does. Yet, in my opinion, “Destruct” deserves some attention in this huge group. Especially because I own the original cassette, the only unpirated game in my collection.
Flying in the outer space and shooting your enemies is usually called a “shoot’em up” game but the preposition “up” doesn’t really mean shooting up, in spite of the fact that you do actually shoot in this direction. Anyhow, “Destruct” is basically a shoot’em up, the only difference is that you… shoot to the right. I was thinking about it for some time and even though I previously stated that “up” doesn’t have a connection with the direction of shooting, I am willing to categorize “Destruct” with my new invention – “shoot’em right”. And that’s essentially the only innovative part of the game.
As I said before, out astronaut flied to the right, and our task is to shoot at our enemies who are more or less identified flying objects. But our job is not easy, as the enemies are aplenty and in addition, they speed towards our astronaut – so the game can be called a demanding one. Apart from that we need to constantly control the altitude of the astronaut, who is gradually falling down if not made by us to keep his height. Any contact with the ground ends with – yes, you guessed – death. The whole game made me angry instead of entertained and walking though even the first level is really difficult, hence the low points for the gameplay.
The creator of the game is Clark John Denham. I have to admit, his game has good music and it needs to be praised – main menu has a really nice tune. Special effects are also very neat, they increase the game’s mysteriousness, although hearing the same vibrating buzz while the level loads after your death can really be annoying… The graphics are rather mediocre but clear.
I recommend “Destruct” as an experiment. It’s an interesting but simple and predictable. Nevertheless, only for experienced gamers.