Old-school blasting thrills
Part of a forgotten and short-lived of old-school shooters which are perhaps best remembered for the controversy over their cover art rather than their gameplay, Game Over and its sequel Game Over 2 are actually pretty neat, if less than stellar, examples of the genre. This first game sets the tone for what would follow and charts the epic tale of one man's attempts to bring down an evil and beautiful woman who has designs on taking on the universe with the aid of her army of Terminators. It's all quite charming stuff in that bluff, old-school way when a surprising amount of thought was put into writing game backstories, even though little evidence of narrative progression is ever really glimpsed in the game itself. What the rather convoluted background transpires into is a sort of Turrican-style side scrolling run 'n' gun shooter where you must simply sprint around, blasting all sorts of giant holes in whatever comes your way. It's all rather frenetic stuff which makes it more enjoyable than it might at first appear and for dedicated shooter fans, this is certainly worthy of at least a quick playthrough. It's quite impressive visually, with some lovely chunky sprites that capture the 1980s essence perfectly and some highly respectable level design which adds to the shooting fun. It is however pretty tough, again a result of its 80s roots, when difficulty curves were pretty much non-existent, so if you're a novice to this kind of thing, be prepared to die a lot. If you're after other similar games, check out Strider, Exolon or Turrican 2.
