G-Force was recently reviewed in Retro Gamer magazine, receiving a rather fine 83%.

Not bad for something that isn't even finished yet...

G-Force is controllable via the keyboard or a PC compatible gamepad.

Left/Right - Cursor Keys or Stick 1 Left/Right
Fire - Z or Y or Button 1
Superzapper - X or Button 2

The Superzapper can only be fired once per web. At the end of every web, the Superzapper is recharged.

Completing A Stage

There's two ways to complete each web - one is to survive the onslaught (less points but you'll still get the end of level bonus) and the other is to clear the web of all enemies. There's a set amount of time between the last enemy spawn and the level automatically ending and you engaging the thrust to ship off the web - for the first few levels the timer is set pretty low so there's only a small amount of time from when the enemy reaches a point where it can cause you damage, so if you're smart enough you can always leave the last one and try not to manouvre into it and it'll explode and you can jet off to relative safety, as you move up through the levels the timer gets longer and there's more chance of you colliding with something if you're not careful.

Surviving The Onslaught

Like Tempest, you can also duck under the flippers that have hit the bottom of the web if you time it right so it is possible to let one or more through but it will make life a little bit harder for you and require more concentration when you move. Time it wrong and ~boof~ its bye bye love.

Concentrate Your Fire

Prioritise your targets. The last thing you want happening is the flippers reaching the bottom of the web. Take them out first as once they reach the bottom, its very easy to find your movement cut off.

You can only shoot enemies when they glow, a flipper in mid lane change is indistructable. Don't waste precious time, take something else out while you wait.

Don't let the spikers hit the bottom, they can still kill you as you leave the web. The longer they lurk, the longer they grow, the more chance you have of obstructing your exit.

13 Level Masterclass

STompy provides a masterclass on how to cruise through the first 13 levels of G-Force using every trick at his disposal.

He even shames some of my playing and I wrote the darned thing :-)

The Cast List

Flippers

- You have everyones old friend, The Flipper - the mainstay of anything Tempest-y. Lands at the top of the web and works its way down switching lanes as and when it feels like it. You'll be killing these a lot for the most part. If you don't they'll attach themselves to the bottom of the web and corner you. You really don't want to let these get through.

The Spinner

- bombs down the lanes at increasing speeds, when it hits the bottom it goes all Paul McCartney on you and goes back to the top and you see it go. Or something. Not a huge problem early on, but a few of these clogging lanes up and things could get hairy.

Tankers.

- Unlike in Tempest, G-Force (thankfully) has only one kind of tanker due to the way the enemies behave. When shot or reaches too low a point on the web, splits in two splutting its Flipper cargo onto the web adding more enemies for you to dispose of.

Fuseballs

- they ride the web lanes moving across at the top and bottom of the web. More difficult to dispose of with not travelling the centre lane like a good nasty.

Pulsars

- or as anyone who's ever played Tempest will testify, "Those f---ing c-----g pulsar b--tard things". Fortunately, they're nowhere near as fearsome in G-Force preferring to sit above the web raining death down from above. Impossible to destroy and certainly not your friend.

The Spikers

- are the final thing you'll have to endure. Green creeping death from the top of the web which not only make targetting the enemies more difficult having to manage to blast them into oblivion but upon leaving the web before it explodes, you don't want to go speeding into these or its eat green death time.

• Feedback Thread at Retro Remakes
• Development Blog

Tempest was designed by Dave Theurer.
G-Force original concept by Boris Baginski.
All graphics, code and sound by Robert Fearon.
Tempest officially hated by Graham Goring. (He's so wrong.)