Laser Force

Laser Force was created by the European Software Partner (ESP) led by Huibert Albars, who also created what became a standard music format on the IIGS, SoundSmith.

The story involves a simple planetary survey conducted by two marines that goes unexpectantly wrong when they are trapped in a game of cat and mouse for the amusement of an omnipresent being.

Laser Force could very easily be described as 3D Lode Runner, the classic platform game of collecting treasures, climbing ladders and avoiding the nasties. Laser Force isn't 3D in first person perspective, but maintains the 3rd person perspective by making the playfield viewable from an isometric viewpoint. Laser Force also has the improvement that two players can play the game simultaneously, one from the keyboard (whose controls can be set to any config from the menu) and the other with the joystick.

The treasures equal to that in Lode Runner for Laser Force are green energy chips, which will replenish your life force and prevent you from dying. Unlike Lode Runner, you shoot your enemies, but just like Lode Runner, they will reappear soon after you've disposed of them. You will find various power-ups that will give you an extra life, teleport across a level, immobilise your enemies and jump you to the next level.

I must admit I was a little disappointed with this game when I bought it, mainly because it was nothing like I expected to be. A screenshot I had seen earlier showed only the title screen, and a neat picture it is too (although I later discovered it was "borrowed" from a poster for a B-grade sci-fi flick called 2019: The Fall of New York!), and made the game out to be some action packed, side scrolling platform game (the IIGS really could have done with some good ones). The game also requires 1.25 meg of RAM to play which was pretty hefty for the time. However, the game stands up well in its own right and Lode Runner fans should really appreciate this one. AND there's a level editor that should keep you busy a little while longer...

Huibert Albars has reclassified his two games LaserForce and Jigsaw as freeware! Yay!