Recent reviews by Orb

I'm a big fan of retro games, and Spider Lander pays homage to the 1979 classic Lunar Lander. The aim of the game is to lower yourself down towards the surface of the planet, land on one of the randomly generated platforms, pick up inhabitants and fly back up towards the the space craft. All the while avoiding both static and moving space objects which will damage your shield and eventually cause you to explode and start again.

You begin tethered to the ship, swinging left and right, but will detach when you are low enough down. You will need to adjust your speed and angle of descent skillfully to make it to the platforms. A high level of precision is required to land successfully. Adding to the challenge is limited fuel - leaving not too much room for repeated adjustments of speed and angle of landing.

Upon landing, one of the little fellas will run towards your ship, and you will gain bonus fuel. This is not just to fly back up to the ship, but also to attempt to rescue additional dwellers by landing on the other platforms. These will give bonus points at the end of the level. You can also get points bonus for zero damage.

Each level adds more and more objects - you need patience, accuracy and just a bit of luck too sometimes to complete later levels.

I heartily recommend this game, because it's challenging, nostalgia-inducing, with nice Jean-Michel Jarre-like synth sounds and effects, and gives a high level of self satisfaction completing the ever more difficult levels. A steal at 99 cents!

I've been a Wonder Boy fan since the original, and I've played most if not all of the sequels and spin offs, including the excellent Monster Boy and Dragon's Tap remakes.

This review is based on the fact that I know Wonder Boy very well and still play it often today. If you haven't played it, know that this is based on that game and it's pretty bare bones. If you like the aesthetic and game play style, go for Wonder Boy Returns.

If you have played and love the game this is supposed to be close to - don't expect it to be exactly the same just with enhanced (which is subjective, I prefer the old style) graphics. The move and jump mechanics are very different, skateboard you move a lot faster and can do huge jumps, just not possible before. It means you will get frustrated and fail some jumps simply because the of mechanics (not a smooth speed arc, it can be variable when you jump).

The music isn't good enough IMO. Where is the creepy sounding music on the 4th stage of each level? Most hidden items appear so far to be in the same place, although there was one I noticed that didn't appear - which is on a spotted egg).

So to conclude, this doesn't do the original justice, and in comparison, Wonder Boy Returns is the better game.