The first ever home console port to a full arcade
game is believed to be Vectrex's very own Cosmic Chasm. Cosmic Chasm
was so well received by the gaming public in 1983 that it led
Cinematronics to make a full colour vector arcade game based on
their then new 68000 board. Only around 400 arcade releases were
manufactured and today the arcade version of Cosmic Chasm is a
much sought after collector's item.
In Cosmic Chasm the player is the Commander and controller of
a ship which has lasers, a shield and a drill. The action takes
place inside a monstrous space station and as you progress from
one cavern to the next your progression is displayed on a
labyrinth style map. In each room there is a central core which
is constantly expanding while you try and fight off the planet
protectors before the core expands so as to engulf your ship.
Once your ship has eliminated all the 'planet protectors'
inside a particular cavern the player needs to pick one of four
or more exits so as to progress to the next cavern. Caution needs
to be taken as each of the exits is protected by a force-field
which will need to be drilled through to obtain access and go on.
Once your ship has reached the 'central chamber', which
contains the planet's power structure,of the space station, the
aim is to plant a bomb which is intended to blow up the main
power supply. Next much haste must be taken as hurriedly the ship
must retrace it's path through all the exits that have been
drilled until the outside of the space station is reached and to
victory. New levels appear in succession after each level has
been blow and power supply destroyed.
Cosmic Chasm was my favourite Vectrex game as a teenager and
it is definitely much more complex than many other original
Vectrex game releases. It really is quite intense making for the
exits after planting the bomb and some keen button work needs to
be performed on the control panel to finally penetrate the alien
planet. Cosmic Chasm can be found regularly on ebay for around
$25 -$30. Be safe.
Score 7.5/10
Review written by Daniel Foot
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