Ajax

Genre:

Arcade

Year:

1989

Developer:

Konami

Publisher:

Konami

Perspective:

3rd-person, Top-down

Theme:

Sci-Fi / Futuristic, Shooter, Flight, Helicopter

Releases:

MAME 2003 (1987), ZX Spectrum (1988), Commodore 64 (1988), DOS (1989), Amstrad CPC (1989)

Also known as:

Arcade Archives: A-JAX, Arcade Archives: Typhoon, Typhoon, A-Jax

Released in 1989 for DOS, Ajax tried to capture the fun of its arcade version but didn't really hit the mark. The game, which was meant to be a fast and exciting shooter, ended up with graphics and sound that just couldn't match up to the arcade game's quality. This made the whole thing feel a bit dull. The visuals weren't as sharp or colorful, and the sound effects were pretty basic, lacking the punch that would have made the game more exciting. The game takes place in a fictional 2007 where the Earth has been conquered by alien invaders. The player combats the occupation forces using vehicles under operation code named 'A-Jax' created to liberate the Earth. Game play is divided into two scrolling sections with two different vehicles: the first being a vertical scrolling section with the helicopter and a Rail scrolling stage with the jet/space fighter. The game spans eight stages and extends to 30,000 points, a second at 150,000 points. During the helicopter segments, the player has access to four different weapons including the Vulcan, Bomb, 3-Way, Triple and Laser. Each weapon is available through their own specific pick-up icon. However, the helicopter can only equip one firing weapon at a time with the Bomb being constant. The player also has access to Options which add additional firepower. The jet segments contrast highly from the helicopter segments, they have a complete lack of available power-ups and additional weapons beyond a machine gun and bomb.