Walker Longplay (Amiga) [50 FPS]

Developed by DMA design and published by Psygnosis in 1993 Follow me on Twitter:   / al82_retro   Add me on Google+: http://bit.ly/1tPwL1u Titles & Intro: 00:00 Main game: 06:45 Released in 1993 for the Commodore Amiga, Walker is a side-scrolling action game from the studio that brought you classic puzzle ‘em up, Lemmings. Despite being in development long before Lemmings was released, it wouldn’t be released until nearly 2 years later – interviews with Mike Dailly actually reveal that the origin of the floppy green-haired lemmings came about from sprites originally developed for some of the character sprites in Walker. You control the Walker, a mechanised, bipedal harbinger designed for one purpose alone: dominate the battlefield. Equipped with dual rotary cannons, an advanced targetting system and shield defence, this is one state-of-the-art war machine. The Walker has been sent back through time in order to win historic conflicts in the hope that this will alter the course of history, improving chances of victory in the great war of 2420. The Walker can be moved left and right using the joystick (or keyboard), whilst the targetting reticule is controlled with the mouse; it’s a simple scheme that works well and is easy to get used to. Pressing the left mouse button fires the Walker’s cannons, while right-clicking will cause the guns to lock on and track what ever target happened to be under the reticule at the time. Set amongst the backdrop of crumbling cityscapes, the objective of each level is to annihilate wave upon wave of hostile forces as you make your way to the level exit. Although your mech is armed with superior technology, the enemy more than makes up for this in sheer weight of numbers; although weak individually, sustained fire will chip away at your shields, eventually leaving your armour exposed to critical damage and destruction. Although blessed with some serious future tech, the Walker does have a few limitations. It’s cannons can fire for only a short period of sustained fire before overheating, meaning that pilots must let them cool down before re-engaging troops. It’s also impossible to shoot behind you, meaning that your particularly vulnerable to troops advancing from the rear, especially sappers who’ll attempt to climb up on top of the mech and plant explosives in the power core, dealing tremendous damage to you if they succeed. If this weren’t enough, you’ll also need to master the art of evasive manoeuvrers to avoid incoming explosives, projectiles and anything else that might cause damage to your shields. Pretty much the first thing anyone will notice is the presentation. The game looks and sounds amazing, featuring some brilliant pixel artwork and audio effects quite unlike anything else on the Amiga at the time. From the horse-drawn artillery accompanied by whip-cracking riders in the opening level to the music-blaring choppers in level 3, the attention to detail in the artwork and sound-design is superb! Unfortunately, the game becomes absurdly difficult beyond the first level. Many of the waves faced contain so many troops that the screen becomes awash with bombs, bullets and projectiles; avoiding damage becomes impossible. The fourth and final level is particularly hellish, featuring troops that teleport behind you, as well as vehicles that shoot barrage upon barrage of drones and missiles that chew through armour like a hot knife through butter; whilst I had the virtue of being able to use save-states, I can’t imagine anyone managing to beat it without resorting to cheats. Sadly, the difficulty really does sour the whole experience somewhat; I don’t mind a challenge, but Walker becomes too damned hard to be any fun! Personally, I think the game would be much improved by giving you Halo-style recharging shields and focusing on achieving high scores – it’s just the sort of game that would be great for a modern HD remake. As it stands, Walker remains a fun, if ultimately frustrating experience. #retrogaming