Sirius XM

Atari 7800 · 1990 · WOR

Also known as: Sirius

Publisher: Tynesoft Computer Software · Developer: Tynesoft Computer Software · Genre: Shooter

Sirius is a horizontally oriented space shooter that will feel right at home to those familiar with games such as Gradius and R-Type . The game consists of four different levels, each with its own unique theme and boss. Sirius deftly demonstrates what the 7800 hardware is capable of and compares favorably with NES and Sega Master System games of the time. Sirius is very difficult, so if you like a challenge, you'll love Sirius. Sirius is a single player game only. The difficulty level (easy and hard) can be selected via the left difficulty switch. Sirius has several different types of weapons power-ups. The first is a "ghost ship" that follows you and fires when you fire. Other power-ups include rapid fire guns and rapid fire plus spread fire. You can pick up one extra of each power-up type for reserve so that when you are killed you won't be quite so vulnerable. There are also diamonds that you can pick up but they don't seem to do much other than reward you 300 points.