''Sanxion'' is a 1986
scrolling shooter
In computer displays, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display, vertically or horizontally. "Scrolling," as such, does not change the layout of the text ...
by
Thalamus Ltd
The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter located in the dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of the forebrain). Nerve fibers project out of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex in all directions, ...
, developed by Stavros Fasoulas. It was the first game released by Thalamus. Fasoulas also wrote ''
Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
'' and ''
Quedex''.
Gameplay
''Sanxion'' is a horizontally-scrolling shooter. The goal to traverse each level from left to right avoiding or destroying any enemies and obstacles. The side-scroller speed is controllable, increasing the closer the player is to the center of the screen. The screen is divided in two sections, the upper one with an overhead view, and the lower one, taking up two-thirds of the screen, shows a typical side view. Enemies can come from both sides of the screen in close formations that the player must avoid colliding with.
While the scrolling is automatic for the most part, the player can control the speed of the engines (there is even a bonus timer that counts down, as an incentive for those who want to "blast through"), and the pitch of the noise alters accordingly, while sounding vaguely like a
didgeridoo. This "adjustable rate autoscroll" is uncommon in the genre (''
Armed Police Unit Gallop'' is another example of this). There are a few exceptions, though. Several levels end with sections where the ship is forced to fly at maximum speed (a two-note siren will sound at the beginning of such sections), where the player must be quick to avoid oncoming barriers.
There are two main types of levels in Sanxion, based on the enemies. In some, such as the first, the enemies are constant throughout the level. In some others, such as the second, reaching a certain point (usually change of terrain) will cause all enemies on screen to self-destruct, and a different type of enemy will appear. There are exceptions to these patterns.
At the end of each level, there are non-lethal bonus stages which award points to the player for shooting, crashing or avoiding floating letters (the action required depends on the actual letter) at great speed. The background in these stages is a rainbow, and the "radar" does not show your ship.
Music
The
SID music by
Rob Hubbard
Rob Hubbard (born 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, England) is a British composer best known for his musical and programming work for microcomputers of the 1980s, such as the Commodore 64.
Early life
Hubbard first started playing music at age seve ...
called "Thalamusik" was played in the
Commodore 64 tape loading screen, during several minutes of slow tape load. The piece was inspired by ''
Zoolook
''Zoolook'' is the seventh studio album by French electronic musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released in November 1984 by Disques Dreyfus. Much of the music is built up from singing and speech in 25 different languages recorded and edited ...
'' by
Jean Michel Jarre
Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompanie ...
, a piece that Hubbard also reproduced in SID form for some public domain demos. It was very popular and later spawned several fan-made remixes.
The menu plays a
SID version of
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...
's "
Dance of the Knights" piece from the ballet ''
Romeo and Juliet''.
Ports
Sinclair ZX Spectrum
''Sanxion'' was ported externally to the
Sinclair ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 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 the ''ZX81 Colour ...
by Softstorm Developments in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
with the subtitle ''the Spectrum Remix'' in both 48k and 128k versions. This port has noticeable gameplay differences, e.g. the scrolling speed is fixed. The music score features renditions of the two main themes arranged by Wally Beben.
Game Boy Advance
A port was planned by Thalamus Interactive in
2001 for the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
, with updated graphics and new features, like two-player mode and end-of-level bosses. A prototype without a split screen was developed, but the game was perceived too financially risky and ultimately canceled.
Development
''Sanxion'' was the first Thalamus game to use the ''Cyberload'' loader by John Twiddy, famous for containing the string "hackers screw off and die". ''
Computer Gaming World'' noted the presence of the fastloader (although not the string present) and was very thankful for its inclusion.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1988 in ''
Dragon'' #130 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.
''
Commodore User
''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...
's Mike Pattenden considered the game to be a clone of ''
Uridium'' which was well executed but not really worth purchasing as an alternative to the cheaper rival ''Warhawk''.
It was voted Best Soundtrack of the Year at the
Golden Joystick Awards
The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be vote ...
.
In a retrospective review Kristan Reed of ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
'' gave the game a 7/10 rating: "Although ''Sanxion'' doesn't stand up nearly as well as ''
Uridium'' does these days, it was still a real highlight of the C64's growing love-affair with shooters. If you're a twitch shooter junkie, this is a game you have to play at some stage".
Reviews
*''
Zzap!
''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact.
The magazine ...
'' (Nov, 1986)
*''
Computer Gamer
''Computer Gamer'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-wester ...
'' (Dec, 1986)
*''
Crash!'' (May, 1989)
*''
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)'' (Dec, 1986)
*''Happy Computer'' (1987)
*''
The Games Machine
''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published ''CRASH'', '' Zzap!64'', '' Amtix!'' and other magazines.
History
The magazine ran head to head wi ...
'' (Jun, 1989)
*''
Your Sinclair
''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993.
History
T ...
'' (Jun, 1989)
*''
Popular Computing Weekly
''Popular Computing Weekly'' was a computer magazine in the UK published from 1982 to 1990. It was sometimes referred to as ''PCW'' (although that abbreviation is more commonly associated with '' Personal Computer World'' magazine).
Overview ...
'' (Oct 09, 1986)
*''
Computer Gaming World'' (Mar, 1988)
References
External links
''Zzap!64'' 1986 review*{{WoS game, id=0004333
1986 video games
Commodore 64 games
Europe-exclusive video games
Golden Joystick Award winners
Horizontally scrolling shooters
Thalamus Ltd games
Video games developed in Finland
Video games scored by Rob Hubbard
ZX Spectrum games