Killer Comet

Killer Comet is a fixed screen space shooter game that was created by Game Plan. The game was published in 1980 by another company named Centuri. Centuri is a Florida-based company that distributes coin-operated machine licensed by various foreign manufacturers to arcades in U.S.A during the ’80s. The company was formerly known as Allied Leisure Inc. until it was acquired by Ed Miller and Bill Olliges who were known to head a relatively famous game company called Taito of America. Some space shooter arcade games published by this company include Megatack, Phoenix, Challenger, Time Pilot, Guzzler, and Tunnel Hunt.

Killer Comet is an action arcade video game with most features of a typical space shooter game. You are required to control a ship that fires ammunition, with the aim of defending itself from assaults from space aliens and each time an alien is exterminated, the player scores points. Besides these basic characteristics, Killer Comet has some special features that are not all that common with sci-fi shooter games of its time. For example, while most of these games only allow you to fire in one direction with the option of moving the spacecraft, Killer Comet allows you to fire the arms in three directions. You can shoot straight at objects in front or diagonally to the left and right. In addition, you can also move the spacecraft around the field of play, as opposed to most video games that existed before a couple of variants before it (like Megatack and Pheonix) was created.

At the start of the game, the screen displays the credit and player information on a light green screen, and options to select one or two players is displayed as well. One or two players can play this game but two players can only play alternatively.
After options have been selected, the game starts with 8 different multi-coloured aliens appear on the screen to attack your ship, which initially starts falling from the top of the screen. The aliens start firing bombs right away and you are expected to fire bombs too, in order to start killing your alien attackers as soon as possible. You have a space pod that can fire at aliens at its left, right and front. The space pod can also be moved around the screen to evade bombs dropping in its direction from above.
When an alien is destroyed, your number of kills increases and this number is displayed at the top left corner of the screen. Although two players cannot play the game simultaneously, once you have been hit, your opponent’s ship goes to the battle next, while your game is suspended. This does not mean the game is over for you, it just means that you have lost one life, as both players are given 5 lives each. Aliens destroyed in this game do not go away permanently. Rather they disappear just to come back on top of the screen making it impossible for the battlefield to be completely rid of monsters.

If an alien touches your spacecraft, the latter is destroyed and you lose a life. At the end of the game, the number of kills and the overall score is what determines the winner of the game when it is played between two players. The game is not timed but you have to avoid being eaten or bombed by the aliens to remain in the game.
Killer Comet is a moderately entertaining shooter game, although it lacks some features that would have made it more exciting. For example, when aliens are hit they yield the same score no matter what size they come in. Also, most action games have special characters that appear randomly on the screen and might challenge you, Killer Comet lacks this depth and after a while playing, the game becomes predictable and bland. The graphics presentation of the game is above average and the background is black just like most space games trying to simulate the space. The characters offered also come in up to 8 different contrasting colours. The sound effects are made up of shooting sounds from all the characters of the screen, crashes, intro, and outro tune.