Rad Warrior is original arcade game, with some adventure game style elements. Although it used a fairly lo-res Coco 3 graphics mode (160x192 16 color), it actually looked pretty good, graphics
wise. The sound was fairly rudimentary, and the controls (either on joystick or keyboard) were a little awkward, but the gameplay was a lot of fun, and pretty difficult. The meltdown sequence when
you win the game was quite impressive as well. Basically, you are a survivor of the human race, after a nuclear war, and aliens have just invaded (as if the war wasn't bad enough). At the beginning, you are
only armed with rocks to throw at the beings, but your first mission is to wander through the forest trying to hunt down some advanced technology left behind by your race from
before the war. The suit can recharge you, and also can eventually be made to fly, fire, and serve as an anti-radiation device, all by finding the
appropriate power packs, and installing them in the suit. By doing all of that, you can eventually go to the top of the radioactive volcano, and defeat the alien masters, and
save the human race.
Rad Warrior was a cross-platform game available on several micros (Apple, C-64, IBM PC/CGA, Sinclair Spectrum, Amstrad CPC - some of these versions were known as "Sacred Armor of the Antiriad"...
which I think is the original title of the game by Palace Software, before Epyx started distributing it)
). The Coco version's graphics were based on the C-64 version, although, because
the 160x192 mode was used (instead of 320x192), it looks a little blockier. The colors appear to be a little more enhanced on the Coco version, though, and the graphics in general were
much better than in the PC CGA version. The author, Jesse Taylor, also did the Coco port of Mind-Roll for Epyx as well.
Title: Rad Warrior
Author: Jesse Taylor (Palace Software)
Publisher: Epyx (sold through Radio Shack)
Released: 1988
Requires: Color Computer 3, 128K RAM, cartridge, joystick optional.