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Zaxxon was originally released as an arcade game by Sega in early 1982. It was ultimately ported to a variety of home systems, including a version for the Commodore 64 by Synapse in 1984. Zaxxon was a unique sci-fi themed game in which you piloted a spaceship against various enemies using an isometric perspective.
In Zaxxon, you are in control of a space fighter flying through an enemy fortress. Your goal is to survive increasingly difficult runs through enemy space stations while destroying gun turrets, fuel tanks, and various enemies. The game scrolls diagonally from the bottom-left to the top-right, which provides and isometric perspective which was unique at the time. It give a pseudo 3D appearance.
While the isometric view point was impressive at the time, it was also somewhat difficult to get used to. There is a small shadow beneath your fighter that helps indicate height, but it could still be difficult to line up your height correctly to avoid crashing into walls and to hit targets. Another challenging aspect is fuel management. You are required to collect fuel along the way or you will run out in which case you obviously will lose your fighter.
Reviews are somewhat mixed on the Commodore 64 version. However, I think it did a good job with graphics and sound and in presenting the isometric viewpoint. There isn’t quite as much animation and the colors are somewhat more muted than the arcade version. It isn’t perfect, but for an 8-bit version of an arcade game it is pretty good.
The Commodore 64 has the SID chip for sound so there’s never really any doubt about its ability to create great sound, it just depends on the effort the developers put into it. In this case, sound effects are a little sparse but they are good and you won’t miss much from the arcade version.
There is definitely a learning curve with Zaxxon and the Commodore 64 version is no exception. If anything, it’s a little bit harder than the arcade version just because it is a little more difficult to discern your height as compared to other objects and enemies. However, it does become a bit easier once you are used to the controls.
Like most early arcade games, this one is all about score. As you progress through each level, obstacles and enemies become more numerous and of course the game gets harder. The farther you make it, the more enemies you destroy, and the higher your score will be.
These days, it’s easy to emulate the arcade version of the game so it’s hard to recommend any other version. Having said that, if you are a Commodore 64 fan, this is a decent enough port. Though not one of my all time favorites or anything, I did enjoy playing it from time to time on my C64. It is somewhat interesting to note that it was available as a cartridge, on cassette and on disk for the Commodore 64. I’m not aware of any differences and would recommend that if you are looking for an original copy, that you chose the cartridge version. It’s likely to be a little more durable than a 40 year old floppy disk or cassette though probably also more expensive.
