Gravitron 2 (PC)

If you thought my games shelves were a bit of a disgrace, with unplayed game after unplayed game, then you should see my Steam list. The amount of times that I've bought a game, particularly when it's on a Special Offer, and then not played it is ridiculous. So I thought I'd tap into that reserve today, and I picked Gravitron 2.

I pretty much knew what Gravitron 2 was about before I played it... I knew it was like Thrust. And Thrust is a game that I have really enjoyed over the years, although I've never been all that good at it.

All of that applies to Gravitron 2.


Look! Little people. Now, how do I get to them in one piece?

If you don't know what Thrust is about (or Gravitar, the arcade game from which it no doubt sprang), then read on. The game is set in space, and you have to navigate your craft down to a planet's surface and blast a reactor, which will trigger a world-destroyng explosion (meaning you have to get back into orbit, sharpish). Of course, it's never as easy it sounds. These planets are extremely well-armed, with turrets firing at you in defence of their world. As an extra line of defence, the further you travel into the game, the more inaccessible the reactors become, with tight caverns needing to be negotiated before you can get to the reactor. It's an intense test of nerves, reflexes and skill.

Gravitron 2 gives you all of that, plus a few extras. For instance, there are now people to be rescued from around the reactor. I'm not sure whether they're scientists or colonists, or what. But they're there, and you can land and pick them up. There are also extra defences, such as laser barriers that switch on and off and serve to make life even more difficult. Aesthetically, the game ladles on the pretties, ensuring that although it's still a simple-looking game, it doesn't appear stuck in the Eighties.


I think we all know what happened here...

I did explain that I was never very good at Thrust, and it therefore follows that I'm not very good at Gravitron 2, even though it's a more forgiving game (you can take a number of hits per ship, whereas in Thrust, well, you can't). That being the case, there may be even more to the game later on that I haven't been able to discover. Even so, I can state categorically that Gravitron 2 is a very good Thrust game indeed. Thrust cost £1.99 about 25 years ago... Gravitron 2 costs £2.99 today, via Steam, I'd say that was more than fair.