Artificial Dreams

This slow-paced methodical shoot 'em up is viewed from top down, with your ship flying up the screen. The game's levels have a clearly square design to them, with lots of barriers to negotiate as well as aliens (which generally stay in the same vertical plane as they fly towards you). Many squares featuring a variety of power-up type effects, such as improved weaponry, extra lives, a level warp, a device to stop the landscape's (otherwise constant) scrolling (thereby giving you a chance to 'pick off' the aliens more carefully), and one which speeds up the aliens (avoid this!). You can move backwards a short way, but it takes a few squares' worth of screen to get fully across the screen, so bear this in mind in the mazier sections.