Walker

A neat little game released in 1993 on Amiga by DMA Design (currently known as Rockstar North). Not particularly long (5 levels, 2 stages each), very straightforward, almost unbeatable, yet insanely sweet. There is a bipedal mech called Walker armed with two powerful cannons and nothing else, and several tons of various military equipment (not to mention several hundred soldiers).

All they do is just keep coming in horrendously large waves - soldiers, trucks, buggies, tanks, missile launchers, trains, choppers, planes, airships, some futuristic alien vehicles - and all you do is shoot them or crush them with Walker's huge paws if they come too close. You got the energy bar and a heat bar which may shut down the cannons if you become too trigger-happy. That's it. Sounds like a zillion other 2D shooters we've all played before, yet there are some features which made the game stand out a little. First of all, the screen moves right-to-left, rather than traditionally left-to-right. NeXT, the controls were also somewhat innovative as the player had to use both keyboard (left and right for moving Walker) and mouse (for aiming and shooting - LMB to shoot, RMB to lock on targets). There was virtually no music, except for the really cool intro screen tune and its expanded version playing while you get to watch the highscores. The only sounds you hear are gunshots, explosions and screams. Sweeet.
(there are also some radio voices available to turn on if you have more memory, but they suck).
The background graphics were very dark and gritty which created a heavy atmosphere, yet the Walker model is very smooth and detailed, as are the enemy vehicles.

But that's just superficial stuff. The core of the game - the very thing which made Amiga owners proud of their gear - is the mayhem. You press the mouse button, move the crosshair around the screen and everything disappears, usually having been converted into bloody pulps or burning junk in a beautiful rhapsody of fire and sparks. Just how many games today give you that sense of unstoppable destructive power?

Speaking of the unstoppable, nothing's perfect of course and Walker does have some flaws, the most serious one being the incredible difficulty level. If you have beat the game without cheats than either you are a God, or Satan. There are simply no other options. Fortunately the rest of us mortals can enjoy the game with trainers, where you can for example disable the overheating, turn on the godmode or select a desired level (Walker, like many games of early nineties, had no level codes, let alone savegames).

I said it before and I'll say it again: I want to see a remake. Windows, PS3 Network, Live Arcade. Anything. This game deserves it.