One of the few Amiga shoot 'em ups that are completable by more average gamers such as myself. Only the last level is particularly tricky, make sure you're powered up and have plenty of shield left as you go into it and don't die, because if you do it'll be almost impossible then.
The music gets into your head and becomes an ear worm, it has nice sampled speech for the power ups too. In addition the music and SFX are simultaneous and this is executed well.
Graphics are okay, nicely drawn enemies, some of the levels look dull while others are quite pretty.
Controls are super responsive and don't get in your way. An auto-fire joystick is a must though.
Enemies change level to level but the formations and patterns don't differ much. In addition once you've completed it a couple of times there is little incentive to come back. These are my only two complaints with this game.
Also it was mentioned by another commenter that you can't regain energy for your shield. This is not true. Just shoot a power up to the last type and you can replenish it.
Highly underrated, try it! 8/10
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RichardH - 2013-04-09
A great game for those with little patience, as I remember it was the easiest shoot-em-up around. Good graphics and great sound (for the time!). 9/10
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mike_tyson - 2012-05-04
The soundtrack of Menace is forever bured into my brain… as the garish colors are into my retina.
Menace was the first game by Dave Jones / DMA Design. Considering the time (1988 ) and platform, it's a very good shooter. The graphics are a bit amateurish, with bright and clashing colors, but the enemy and background design is original and varied. Gameplay is fun and not so tactical as in R-Type or Pulstar.
What I like about Menace, is that this is *not* a checkpoint shooter. The entire concept of checkpointing, instead of loosing a life and carrying on, is what ruined so many action games on the Amiga (and other platform) during that era. If you look at contemporary 2D-shooters (anything by CAVE), you never have checkpoints. Checkpointing might look like a very small thing but it usually breaks a game.
At that time, I thought the Amiga was the ultimate platform for this kind of side-scrolling shooter. Years later I discovered contemporary hardware like PC Engine, Neo Geo, Mega Drive... And what has been available in the arcades at that time. Later came danmaku kei / bullet storm - that was such a quantum leap in game design that the old 16 Bit shooter are barely worth revisiting. Still, Menace is a nice, little but fun sidescrolling shmup.
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apachacha - 2011-07-23
I think this rivals Agony in the enemy department, in fact it might surpass it slightly because there are more of em here
Realy awesome shooter but kind of annoying how you seemingly can't regain energy for your shields.
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tony day - 2011-02-25
Pleasantly surprised
much better than its turd of a sequelView all comments (72)
Dan Locke - 2011-02-17
Disgusting game. The graphics are lamentable, the enemy patterns are supremely dull and unimaginative (even in comparison to most C64 games), and the whole thing feels like a no-talent PD effort - to the extent that "effort" was involved at all. Given that it was released a full year after R-Type, there's really no excuse. How this is still cited as a "classic" is beyond my understanding.
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vpiezsak - 2011-02-09
Mediocre shooter with ugly, washed-out graphics. A poor substitute for a console or arcade shoot-em-up. Music is catchy, but there's only one in-game song outside of the boss battles.
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radioman970 - 2010-10-16
Only ever knew about this one since it's mentioned at the beginning of Blood Money. Although years after I did play the demo and was...kind of let down. I'll not rate...just didn't have much experience with it.
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Lord_Maletoth - 2010-08-12
I was a lil' kid when I first saw this game, and it had a huge impact on me. The music, dark and epic, is still today highly enjoyable, the graphics, with its sort of 3D background looked awesome in comparison to most of what was around on Amiga in those days. And the sampled words "danger! danger!" when you approached the level bosses always sent a shrivel down my spine. In the tradition of Psygnosis games, this was difficult too, indeed I never completed it without a cheat mode, but you could reasonably reach the advanced levels without it. Seen today it's very repetitive, always the same level scheme, but it was groundbreaking back then. Unconditionate love.
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mapo - 2010-02-02
One of the best shooters of the early days of the Amiga.
7/10
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Chuckles - 2009-03-24
Ah yes--pure monster killing pleasure--then again, maybe I'm just biased on Psygnosis H-Scrollers--)
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amigamer - 2007-06-28
One of my favourite shoot'em up
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Thunderblade - 2007-05-29
Danger - Danger - Danger
This game is simple, but just right. Just pure shoot'em up. I really played it a lot and enjoyed it when the icon that represented each world was breaking apart. The graphics in some later levels were very detailed and made a cool atmosphere. The music was just great.View all comments (39)
=^D Guy - 2007-04-26
This game is bull crap... ...Nah, I'm just kidding. The gameplay and music was great, but most of the graphics are just atrociously UGLY.
Worth playing anyways.View all comments (50)
stooart - 2005-11-28
Hasn't stood the test of time but in those days, big giant bug like creatures that filled the screen weren't an everyday occurrence! Yep, two thumbs up from me!
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turricantom - 2005-08-23
I used to love this game. The graphics aren't great, nor is the gameplay, but it just feels good to play. Cool music too.
Also, this is where the Lemmings level "menacing" came from.
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Ratso - 2005-04-27
I played this two or three years after it first came out and it came across as pretty ropey in every way.
(4/10)
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Inferno - 2005-03-14
After playing this game, I decided I absolutely had to sell my C128 and get an Amiga. And it wasn't because of Menace's graphics, or music or sound effects. It was because Menace, mmm... 'felt' different. I later discovered it was called hardware scrolling, not 'feeling'. But I liked the game anyway, and I still do.
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starvingwriter82 - 2005-02-10
It may seem slow and clunky now, but at the time it came out, Menace was spectacular in every way, and to this day I can't help but pick it up now and again in an attempt to beat old high scores. I'm pretty sure that everyone who experienced this game's intial release broke at least one joystick in the throes of joystick-mashing goodness.
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lux - 2005-02-09
Gorgeous graphics, superb soundtrack (Whittaker's best work !) and great playability make this shooter one of the best ever.
Another classic from DMA/Psygnosis.
P.S. Try also the awesome C64 conversion!
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Lane - 2005-02-02
When it came out, I thought there could be no better shoot 'em up. A classic game, if not the best shootor, IMO.
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MartinUK - 2005-01-07
At the time, superb both technically and in terms of gampleay, but it was later outclassed, first by its semi-sequel Blood Money, and later by things like Project X and Apidya.
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TWR - 2005-01-07
The best shoot'em up ever! It is so bloody great over all, I really love this game !!!
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Trekster - 2004-12-17
This was not the best horizonatal shooter for the Amiga but at the time of it's release it was. There was newer titles that showed off more of what the Mighty Amiga can do, but even today it is a joy to play.
[www]
Live Long and Prosper
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Winston Wolf - 2004-12-10
This was hyped. In the end it boiled down to an average (if not below average) horizontal shooter. An early release, so it was good for the time, but quickly forgotten. Check out R-Type II, Project-X, Disposable Hero, Apydia or Silkworm for good examples of what the Amiga could really do.
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DeAdLy_cOoKiE - 2004-12-08
Good game. The music is excellent. Check it out.
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Jim - 2004-12-04
Average shoot-em-up.
But deserves a look especially if you're interested in coding as most of the source for this game was given away by the author in a Amiga Format tutorial.
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27 comments in total.