If a game makes it into the Corner’s end-of-the-pier amusement arcade, you can be sure of four things. The entertainment in question will riff on a classic from the 70s or 80s, require quick reflexes, be cheap or free, and be so diverting there’s zero chance you’ll quit after your first GAME OVER.
Before Hijong Park graduated to coding promising retro heli sims he made a number of nostalgia-wreathed arcade whimsies. The first fun cabinet sack-barrowed into Ace Amusements is one of those whimsies: Dark Spasm.
An electrifying 3D re-imagining of Berzerk, DS is much richer and faster than its inspiration. Myriad maze layouts and numerous weapon and enemy types ensure the robot zapping never gets tiresome. Colourful sprites and well-chosen sound effects (the latter include the amusing utterances of the game’s Evil Otto equivalent) make the mayhem very easy on eye and ear.
Fancy a fifteen-minute burst of fast, first-person violence between wargame or sim sessions? Dark Spasm is a great option.
(Tim’s tips: Level 0 provides the most faithful Berzerk experience. Levels 1-3 are closer in feel to a traditional FPS. F7 = quicksave. F8 = quickload. To exit, configure keys, change FOV etc press Enter.)