''Alien Highway: Encounter 2'' is an

isometric The term ''isometric'' comes from the Greek for "having equal measurement". isometric may mean: * Cubic crystal system, also called isometric crystal system * Isometre, a rhythmic technique in music. * "Isometric (Intro)", a song by Madeon from ...

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...

released by

Vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...

in 1986 for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

. It was programmed by

Mark Haigh-Hutchinson Mark Haigh-Hutchinson (20 August 1964 – 15 January 2008) was an English video game developer. He is most notable for working on ''Zombies Ate My Neighbors'', mid to late 1990s '' Star Wars'' titles, and the ''Metroid Prime'' games. Biograph ...

and is the sequel to ''

Highway Encounter ''Highway Encounter'' is a video game published for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 64, Sharp MZ, and Tatung Einstein by Vortex Software in 1985. It was written by Costa Panayi who also coded '' Android'', '' Android Two'', '' TLL' ...

''.

Gameplay

Gameplay is similar to ''

'', with the player controlling a "Vorton" robot in its attempt to deliver a bomb to an alien base at the end of a highway. Various enemies and obstacles lie in its path. A notable difference is that the player has a single Vorton with an energy meter, instead of five lives; accordingly, the bomb must be pushed by the player, whereas in the previous game it was pushed by the player's spare Vortons.

Development

Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, the developer

"After ''Highway'' Costa anayiwanted to come up with something completely different again. Since I was now working full-time for Vortex it was decided that I should write ''Alien Highway'' whilst Costa developed his new ideas. I had previously written ''
Android One Android One is a family of third-party Android smartphones promoted by Google. In comparison to many third-party Android devices, which ship with a manufacturer's customized user interface and bundled apps, these devices run near- stock versi ...
'' for the
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...
(in my spare time at University) and then converted ''Highway Encounter'' to the CPC in 8 weeks after graduation. ''Alien Highway'' attempted to retain the essence of the original game yet expand the gameplay and introduce a random element into the game. It was also considerably faster than the original."Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, "The History of Vortex Software", March 1995

Reception

''Alien Highway'' received positive reviews.

References

External links

* * *{{moby game, id=/alien-highway-encounter-2, name=''Alien Highway'' 1986 video games Action games Amstrad CPC games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games with isometric graphics Vortex Software games ZX Spectrum games