Raptor: Call of the Shadows

Shareware was my middle name back in the early and perhaps, mid-nineties. I had a few sources of shareware, including CompuServe and many local computer shops that would be happy to sell you a 3.5" floppy filled with hours of entertainment. Being "so young" meant that the first episode of these games was typically enough. Eight or nine levels of Doom was tough enough and provided enough entertainment to not have to buy the entire game. But that didn't stop me most times as I convinced my parents to feed my love for these games.

Many of my first CD-ROMs were discs loaded to the brim with shareware titles. So many that individual games would get lost in the fold and the truly good would have to be great in order to stand out. Raptor was one of those games. I've always had a soft spot for these types of shooters: constantly marching forward, annihilating waves of enemies, upgrading weapons and skirting death. It doesn't matter what way they scroll, as long as it's going somewhere and stops magically when a boss of significant size shows up.

Raptor really calls out to me: you have energy, so one hit doesn't knock you out immediately. You can get all kinds of upgrades, including more shields, mega-bombs, auto tracking guns and incredible lasers. Your enemies don't really have much of a chance, although the game presents a challenge. Enemies are pretty simple in their movements, and their fire is often weak until you get to later levels. By that time you should be upgraded enough to stand a chance, and when you have skills like mine, well, 'nuff said. And there's a good point: it's been at least twelve years since I've played this game, and I still have it. I was able to breeze through the game, only dying twice. I remember what weapons are the best and fit with my play style. I remember what weapon fire to avoid and what can be absorbed. I remember what items you pick up and don't need to buy. It's scary.

I downloaded this game from GOG, and it has been a great experience. For six dollars I get something that just downloads and works. It seems the developer ported the original DOS game to Windows quite a few years later. The version was have now is Raptor 2010, which from what I understand is the Windows version with all the glitches fixed so that it plays just like the original. I must say that it does. After all these years, this game still has it.