REVIEW:  Grade A-: Here's a game that for some reason seems to be overlooked quite a bit when it comes to MBX gaming. Not only does Superfly offer some really unique features, but it's also the little known sequel to the ever popular 1980 Milton Bradley game The Attack on the TI-99/4A. Considering how much attention The Attack got through the years, it's surprising that Superfly isn't more talked about today since it offers many improvements to its predecessor.

Superfly pits you, a housefly, against all the baddies of the fly world. There are Red Spiders, Purple Spiders, Spider Larvae, and Spider Eggs all out to get you! However, these spiders don't know what they are messing with as you are no ordinary fly, but Superfly! The object of the game is to advance through various levels blasting away at all the creatures on the screen before they can devour you. As Superfly, you have the option to use two different ranges of firepower, either a short or a long ranged shot. Since you have to wait for your "shot" to either hit an enemy or a wall before being able to fire again, using short ranged firing can be beneficial especially in tight spaces. The concept of the game is pretty unique, pitting a fly that can shoot against spiders who have to hatch from their eggs and evolve before being able to attack you. It's important to note that the eggs (the yellow round things with green markings) are completely harmless but also cannot be destroyed until they hatch. After they hatch, unharmful little blue larvae will climb out and if you happen to see one of the larvae curling up into a ball you better be on alert as it will soon be transforming into a Red Spider! These Red Spiders are the true enemies of the game since they aggressively seek you out for a meal. The Purple Spiders on the other hand don't seem to come from the eggs/larvae, instead they are already placed on the screen at the start of each round and don't seek you out as rabidly as the Red Spiders do. However, these Purple Spiders can't be trusted since not only do you lose a life if you run into them, but also they can change into a Red Spider at a moments notice. One thing that I have noticed, which could just be a glitch in the game, is that if you fly into one of the eggs while it is hatching then you sometimes end up losing a life. So a tip to those who play this game...Stay away from hatching eggs since they can end up killing you too. An additional weapon your fly has at his disposal (besides shooting) are Spray Cans which can be used by the press of a button to exterminate all the spiders/larvae (not eggs) on the screen. So if the game ever gets too intense (and I have run into may times in later levels where the action was simply too much) these spray cans can come in very handy!

Now for the true meat of the game which really makes it stand out from others in its class. If you are playing with any non-MBX joysticks (and therefore without the MBX system, since only the MBX sticks work with the device), then the fly is simply controlled like in almost all video games. Meaning you can only move up, down, left, or right while shooting in the same direction you are facing in. But if playing with the MBX Joysticks, the fly can be flying in one direction (for example, flying towards the left of the screen) while shooting/facing in the opposite direction (such as towards the right side of the screen). This special movement is accomplished by using the rotation knob on the top of the MBX Joysticks, which actually allows the player to rotate the fly on the dot 360° and face/shoot in any direction regardless of which way he is flying. Therefore, if spiders are coming at you from behind you can actually control the fly in such a way so that he is flying backwards but shooting in the opposite direction. This life-like control (well maybe not too life-like for a fly, but for a human anyway) really helps set apart Superfly from not just other games, but also other MBX games. Milton Bradley was really using their creativity when it came to how the fly could be controlled. Perhaps the best setting for a rotation knob like this would be in an action RPG where the player could walk in all directions while facing in any direction. Superfly has a lot to offer to both the person with and without the MBX device. It's a fun game to play even without the rotation knob capability, but needless to say it's even more of a blast with it! As with all MBX games, Superfly includes some great speech synthesis with lines such as "Kill the Fly" or "Never Trust a Worm" all being said in some truly unique voices. Actually, the speech in Superfly is so unique (especially with the MBX attached) that I would say it demonstrates some of the best speech synthesis of any TI-99/4A game around. This game also makes my personal TOP 10 TI-99/4A games of all time, along with "Bigfoot" and "Championship Baseball" (other MBX games) simply because there are so many options here and the fact that Superfly is just simply an all out entertaining game.

                                                                                                    Appeared in Retrogaming Times Monthly Issue #9

                                                                -Bryan Roppolo (Writes "The TI-99/4A Arcade" for Retrogaming Times)