Delta

Delta was designed for Hewson Consultants by Andrew Braybrook, creator of the earlier hit Uridium, and was released on the Commodore 64 in 1987 as his next contribution to the vertically scrolling shooter genre. The player pilots a fighter craft flying through an alien landscape full of organic enemies, defense towers and obstacles, while the weapon can be upgraded throughout the game by collecting power-ups that change the trajectory and strength of the fire, from scattered shots to a focused beam. The game emphasises recognising enemy patterns and making efficient use of temporary upgrades, since losing a life sends the player back to their base, weaker loadout, forcing them to rebuild their progress from scratch.

Delta's game world felt unusually alive for the 8-bit hardware of the time thanks to its varied range of organically shaped enemies and shifting backgrounds, and the game demonstrated well how an experienced designer could squeeze smooth scrolling and a large number of simultaneously displayed objects out of the C64's limited resources. The soundtrack made use of the SID chip's capabilities to create atmospheric, slightly oppressive music that complemented the alien, almost biological tone of the visuals well. The game's structure was built around gradually clearing longer stretches of terrain, each capped off with a more demanding combat sequence against tougher opponents.

At the time of release, Delta was praised as a worthy continuation of Braybrook's creative line following Uridium and Paradroid, even though it never quite managed to reach the same legendary status as those older titles. Even so, the game is still cited today as a solid example of a technically accomplished 8-bit shooter with a well-thought-out weapon system. For today's player it offers a fast-paced, visually inventive experience that illustrates well how high the level of C64 shooters managed to climb by the second half of the 1980s, thanks in part to experienced designers.

Why play it: Anyone who appreciates a technically accomplished 8-bit shooter with a well-thought-out weapon system will find Delta offers a fast-paced, visually inventive experience, even without the legendary reputation of Uridium or Paradroid.