Darwin 4081 for MD

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Review #6016

Darwin 4081

On the Origin of Spaceships

MD 1990 Data East Shooter Shooter › Vertical
Darwin 4081 screenshot for MD
Screenshot used for review/reference purposes.
1 / 5

Gameplay

Uses the laser plus bomb mechanic from Xevious, but you use the bomb so rarely that I forgot it was there half the time. Holding two buttons is never fun.
Huge hitbox. Bizarre powerup system where pickups all look the same and grant random abilities. Unpredictable and annoying.

2 / 5

Level Design

1 / 5

Theme

No idea what the theme is. You collect DNA from lizards you bomb and this somehow evolved your ship. Maybe? But you're a 1950s-ish space rocket. Such a weird non-theme theme.

1 / 5

Art Style

Terrible visual language. Impossible to differentiate enemies from pickups and bullets from background tiles, especially since they move at the same speed. Ugly sprites and boring backgrounds too.

1 / 5

Audio

Bad music and worse sound effects. The instrumentation is the worst aspect of the sound design. It's tinny and shrill.

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