Xenon 2: Megablast

Xenon 2: Megablast is a vertical shoot 'em up, a sequel to the successful 1988 Xenon by the British studio The Bitmap Brothers, whose Commodore 64 conversion was published by Image Works at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. The player pilots a combat ship that can be upgraded between missions in an in-game shop with new weapons, auxiliary modules, and engine upgrades, then progresses through a series of organically and technically themed levels full of enemies, hazards, and massive bosses at the end of each one that demand a well-considered choice of loadout.

The game became famous above all for its music - the original version featured a distinctive adaptation of the track "Megablast" by Bomb the Bass, and the Commodore 64 version also tried to reproduce this unmistakable electronic sound on the 8-bit SID chip as faithfully as possible, which was considered a remarkable technical feat at the time and was widely covered in contemporary magazines. Visually, the game benefited from the detailed artwork typical of The Bitmap Brothers, though the port to the significantly weaker C64 hardware necessarily meant some simplification compared to the 16-bit Amiga and Atari ST versions, which became the series' reference standard. Even so, the conversion retained a fast pace and clarity that kept it playable and enjoyable even on this noticeably weaker machine.

Xenon 2 is still seen today as one of the more ambitious European shooters of its era, an example of the effort to carry the audiovisual qualities of the groundbreaking 16-bit Amiga over to older, technically weaker 8-bit machines. The Commodore 64 version doesn't reach the quality of the original, but it's still among the interesting and honestly executed conversions that demonstrate just how far 8-bit hardware could still be pushed at the twilight of its life, when an experienced, seasoned team of converters set out to do it.

Why play it: For players curious how far the 8-bit C64 could be pushed converting an ambitious Amiga shooter - more an honest technical showcase than an experience on par with the original.