Commodore 64 Longplay [351] Thunderbolt (EU)

http://www.longplays.org

Played by: MadMatty

Thunderbolt, developed by Gavin Raeburn of FX Arcade and published by Codemasters in 1987.

"One of the fastest meanest smoothest games yet! Many Aircraft formations. A huge variety of incredible landscapes. really fast action with great playability. This is probably the best ever Shoot Em Up! Amazing!!!"

The Third game by Gaxx (Gavin Raeburn) published as a £2.99 budget game. This one plays like Uridium. While you can switch between left-right movement as needed, the landing pad you need to reach is always at the right of the level. You have a fuel (energy) bar which depletes as enemies hit you or you hit a wall. I'm not 100% sure but I think the main challenge is just to survive for an undisclosed amount of time before you are given permission to land. Kill count doesn't seem to apply.

I didn't count how many levels the game has but eventually you will reach a point where the game loops as this is an endless game that loops forever more. The signature design choice of Gavin's c64 games. The game starts off ok with enemies fairly simple to avoid/destroy and moving between walls but it soon steps up the challenge with tight spaces you need to maneuverer left and right through while trying not to bounce off the walls. Later in the game you have really annoying enemies that attach them selves and absorb your energy which becomes a real game breaker in the late game.

You only get one life and if you die that's the end of the game. You do get smart bombs to clear the screen but I am unsure how many you actually have. I used them sparingly in case i needed them at the end of the game which I did!. The title music is short and whilst there maybe more to it, the game wont let you hear it before running in demo mode.

00:00:00 Title Music
00:00:27 Gameplay
00:13:55 Game looping

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