Wreckers

Wreckers is an isometric sci-fi action game with strategy elements. Robotic droids roll quietly through the corridors of space station Beacon 04523N, automated computers calculate routes for interstellar traffic. Three human officers sleep in cryogenic tanks, awakened only for routine system checks – or in case of an emergency. With a hum, the cryogenic control springs on-line as Beacon’s long-range sensors detect incoming lifeforms. Controlling one of the on-board officers, you have to defend the station against swarms of plasmodian spores (the “Wreckers”) showering down on Beacon and seeping into its four sections. While the spores approach, you can suck them out of space with a gigantic hoover-like space hose. Once they settle onto the stations hull, jump into the space suit and spray infected areas with a cleansing agent. Undetected spores will seep into the station’s corridors, where you must hunt them down with a plasma shots and avoid being shot in return. In addition, up to ten droids are under your (indirect) control. Ranging from cleaners to fighters to engineers, these automatons will act independently, but can be sent to key locations within the station -- i.e. infected areas. As your officer gains experience through battles, he will be promoted to higher ranks, enabling him to construct more efficient fighter robots in the station’s droid factory. Since plasmodians running rampant in the station will cause system malfunctions, your main goal is to clear infections quickly and make sure that Beacon continues to function properly. To make things worse, an self-destruct mechanism will explode the station in 60 minutes unless all signs of spore activity cease. Effective droid construction and assignment, quick reactions to approaching swarms and good reflexes thus combine into a challenging race against time that makes Wreckers stand out as a clever twist of the “alien invasion” action archetype.