I found an Atari game I've never heard of! Now I know why.
Cosmic Corridor plays like Vanguard, with its blocky scrolling and directional shooting, but it's not enough to compensate for dull and unfair gameplay.
In Cosmic Corridor, be prepared to shoot one block monster at a time, though they sometimes arrive triplet-style, like those enemies in Firefly. Speaking of Firefly, I can say Cosmic Corridor is better. But not by much.
Did I mention ZiMag released Cosmic Corridor? You know, the crew who gave us another Atari game titled "I Want My Mommy." Yeah, those guys.
One thing I like about Cosmic Corridor are the large, unique enemies. I can't comprehend what most of these are supposed to be, but that doesn't matter. The sprites are large, colorful, and original, which is more than most Atari games offer. Bring on the pixel piles! And hey, one of them looks like the Genie from Aladdin.
I also like how the background changes color, giving a sense of progression.
Each enemy shoots a zigzag missile that's easy to dodge, until the game gets crazy fast. Suddenly, offscreen enemies blast speeding missiles that offer little time to react. Perhaps there's a way around this, but I don't have the patience to find out.
I almost forgot the sound! That's because I never want to hear it again. Cosmic Corridor rates among the worst grating, screeching, and incessantly bleeping Atari games ever.
Tips and Tricks:
-Travel down instead of up, because enemies spawn directly from the top and crash into you.
-You can still move your destroyed ship after "game over."
Should I get it?
No.
Final Cosmic Corridor Atari 2600 Review:
Cosmic Corridor offers some interesting sprites and attempts Vanguard gameplay. However, this rare and pricey title is conversely too dull and too tough. And it sounds like an Atari dying. I recommend Cosmic Corridor for Collectors only.