Caverns of Mars : Recharged Review by Shaun – The Geordie Hobbit

Imagine, if you will, getting home from school. You turn on a chunky CRT TV and rummage around for a cartridge for your Atari 2600. You pick up Caverns of Mars, a classic.

Fast forward 40 years and we have a spiritual remake, Caverns of Mars : Recharged. 

Now, if you’re familiar with the original, the premise remains unchanged. You are a ship, descending through various caverns, trying not to crash. In a throwback to the old school, the game has a single button and analogue stick setup. Ah, the nostalgia…

This time though, there’s a modern twist. We have modern graphics, multiplayer, a brand new soundtrack, new weapons and fully destructible environments

The aim of the game is simple. You’re falling, on the way to the enemy’s reactor, deep in the caverns of mars. You can steer left and right, to try and dodge the walls, obstacles and enemies. You can also shoot! Now, firing your weapon isn’t just about offence, it also slows the ships fall. So, we can steer and brake/shoot to help avoid crashing. Lovely and simple, which was pretty much the premise of the game 40 years ago…

The complexity comes from your 2 gauges. Shields and Fuel. Shields are shields and when they’re gone, you’re dead. Fuel, on the other hand, links directly into your weapons. Fire to brake/attack and you’ll use fuel. Once you run out, you can no longer fire. In a nutshell that’s the game. Make it the bottom without running out of shields, whilst carefully rationing your firepower.

There’s pickups along the way to change your weapon or replenish some fuel, so there’s some tactical thought involved, too. Do you grab a new weapon, but waste fuel on the way? Do you risk taking damage, or do you make your own route? 

There’s 2 main game modes; arcade and missions. 

Arcade is all about racking up that high score by getting as far as deep into those caverns as you can, before exploding. Your health carries over between levels, but you also have the option for power-ups. These are generally a choice of increasing health by reducing fuel, but help in getting you that little bit further.

Missions are essentially the same, but each level acts as its own starting checkpoint, with no power-ups between.

Games have come a long way in the last 40 years, so it’s difficult to be overly critical here. It does what it set out to do; and it does that really well. That’s also where it falls down a little. A simple concept that can become extremely repetitive. I enjoyed my time with Caverns of Mars, but I also fondly remember the original. It may not stand up to the discerning modern gamer. For £7.99, on the Xbox store right now, it’s enjoyable if short lived. Some basic customisation would have really helped.

Written by Shaun, the Geordie Hobbit (@Shaun0Shire on twitter)