One of the earliest Apogee Software (who were both the developer and publisher, despite what certain game web sites say) platform games, released in 1991, it had primitive CGA graphics but was still quite fun. It was very similar to Arctic Adventure and Pharaoh's Tomb, obviously sharing the same engine.

The storyline is simple: There are a set of monuments on Mars. The manned missions sent by NASA to examine them have resulted in the astronauts mysteriously losing contact. You have been sent to find out whats happened and rescue the astronauts, and you start the game just outside one of the monuments.

The game consists of 20 levels per episode which consist of one screen each. There are four episodes of which, in the traditional Apogee style, only the first is shareware, and the rest make up the registered version. The episode names are, in order, "First Contact", "The Pyramid", "The Fortress" and "The Face".

It provided a high score table, save/restore, unlimited lives (when you die, you just restart the level) and optional PC Speaker sound, among other features.

The levels basically consisted of simple jumping and shooting gameplay, coupled with occasional "push the button"-style puzzles. You had a (ammo-limited) laser gun, but most of the time you need to avoid the aliens and robots patrolling the levels, rather than wasting ammo killing them. Obstacles consist solely of things like fire, laser beams and holes which you can get stuck in.

Overall, an interesting game, but not one which can really compete with your attention for more than a few minutes - it wasn't terribly innovative nor incredible fun.


System Requirements: CGA/EGA/VGA, 350k of RAM, 8086+ (no 8088). Note that you need to use Mo'Slo in order to use it with modern computers.