Hi there!

 

Another first for the "Playing..." series. Or a second?

 

 

Indeed, this Sega Arcade conversion has absolutely nothing in common with the already featured S.D.I. game from Cinemaware but the name

 

This one is made for all the old-school shoot'em fans in the world. It doesn't get much simpler than this: You're controlling an SDI satellite, shooting everything on the screen that moves.

 

The game is divided into two separate waves: Each stage starts with the "offensive" one, and if you don't manage to succeed here, you get a second chance of defending america in the "defensive" wave. You're doing pretty much the same in both waves, it's just that the offensive wave overall has more of an Asteroids feel to it, while the defensive wave is more reminiscent of Missile Command.

 

Besides a good dozen of different enemy attack patterns, the only other gameplay element is a second satellite that'll release an extra life when being shot.

 

The controls are a good example for a clever conversion: Since at home you usually can only hold one joystick, the game will move just the crosshair while fire is pressed and both (satellite & crosshair) when it is released -> And it works!

 

Overall I admit the game is pretty shallow, but at least it provides some solid after-work stress relief

 

 

Some future day the "Playing..." series may see another Sega Arcade conversion in the form of "Thunderblade", but first it'll continue with something else.

 

Greetings,

Manuel