[Arcade]  

Title: Phoenix
Author:Centuri
Rom Player: MAME
Reviewer: Randy Johnson

Synopsis: In 1981 I played my first and favorite arcade game. It was Phoenix by Centuri. On September 6 of this year I got my own Phoenix machine.
Phoenix has five screens. Phoenix is similar to Galaxian, but in my opinion, it's much better. You have a red ship at the bottom of the screen. You move left and right to dodge enemy lasers and to shoot alien birds.
You also have a force field. When an enemy gets close to your ship, activate the force field. The force field lasts for a couple of seconds. It protects your ship and also destroys any alien birds that touch it. After using the force field, it can't be reactivated until several seconds later.
On the first screen you battle a group of small warbirds. On the second screen you battle another group of small warbirds. They're identical to the first warbirds except they're a different color. On the third screen you battle larger phoenix birds (Back in 1981, I called them eagles.) The phoenix birds start as eggs and turn into eight blue phoenix birds. You must dodge them and their lasers and shoot them. The fourth screen is the same as the third except the eggs move in a different formation and the eight Phoenix birds are pink. On the fifth and final screen, you battle the phoenix mothership, which is protected by the same kind of birds you shoot on the second screen. When the mothership is destroyed, you return to the first screen and the game gets harder.
Now I will give you a few tips about playing Phoenix. On the first and second screens part of the small warbirds fly around the screen while the others sit and move from left to right. Pick off as many of the birds that you can while they are sitting. Then shoot the flying ones.
On the third and fourth screens shoot as many eggs as you can before they hatch. Your score won't be as high but it is easier to survive. The eggs can't shoot at you until they are ready to hatch.
On the final screen you must blast the mothership's armor and then blast holes through a blue belt that's in motion. After blasting through the belt you must shoot the alien in the center of the ship. My tip for this screen is this. Don't fear the mothership. It can't fire at you unless you're directly under the alien that sits in the center. Blast a path in the armor that's directly under the alien. Then go to the edge of the ship and start blasting the armor and the belt. When you blast enough holes in the belt, move back under the alien and shoot it to blow up the ship. On this screen the mothership is protected by the same warbirds that you battle on the second screen. You need to concentrate more on the warbirds attacks than the ship's attacks. The warbirds fly around the screen and fire at you and if you're not careful, they'll collide with your ship. If you've never played Phoenix, you're probably thinking that it's a good idea to shoot all of the warbirds that protect the mothership. Don't do this. If you shoot all of the warbirds, another fleet appears.
When I first played phoenix, I fell in love with it. It would be considered as outdated junk by some people today but it was great twenty-one years ago and I still think it's great today.

Best Cheats: Nothing Entered

Game Play: 6
Graphics: 6
Music/Sound: 4
Originality: 4
Overall Rating: 9



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