Okay, that’s enough flying around. Time for some action. The first mission with the space junk is quickly resolved and I blow away the rubbish outside the space station in no time. The way the debris bursts with a tremendous explosion when I hit it is fantastic. I don’t have to wait long for the first mission with potential for enemy contact.

I still have to grin at nervous, one-eyed Bolar. Right then, let’s get him home in one piece. As expected, we have company on the way. My first encounter with the Vossk in over 3 years. As before, their dull, dark grey hulls make them difficult to spot, even on the gigantic display of the iPhone, but the head-up display reliably shows them as an enemy target.

First enemy contact on the iPhone

Their spaceships are significantly better than my little Icarus in weaponry, armour, and manoeuvrability, and a frontal attack was not a good idea even in the past. I duck under the first salvo and fire my booster to get behind the enemy fighter with a wide loop. All right, now you’re going to get it. A fine salvo from my twin lasers hits the target and the Vossk fighter’s energy bar declines significantly. I’d love to finish him off, but the time limit to get Bolar to the next waypoint is getting short. A quick moment to orient myself and then set course for the yellow dot at the edge of the screen. Bolar whinges away at me, and I boost again. Time presses. After another attack by the Vossk, which I am also able to parry, I bring Bolar to the last waypoint. He’s happy as a clam that we made it in one piece, and I pocket the credits. It’s a pity I had to let the Vossk get away, but I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.

The Doctor offers a lucrative assignment

Word of my deeds appears to have got round. Doc Washington hires me as a wingman. He won’t tell me much, just that we are guaranteed to run into trouble. Sounds like fun. The money is right, so off we go. At first, the journey is quiet. We reach the first waypoint without incident. Doc’s spaceship makes a much better impression than mine; his business seems to be doing well. As soon as possible, I’ll take a look around and see what the market offers for better ships and weapons.

The dramatic music announcing the approach of enemy units pulls me out of my thoughts of a new spaceship. Vossk fighters. I ignite my booster and hurry toward them to draw their fire, so that Doc can attack the Vossk with his powerful lasers. I am able to shake off the Vossk with time-tested evasive manoeuvres and launch a counterattack. With satisfaction, I wipe out two of the Vossk, whose ships are much better than mine. Well, it all comes down to the pilot, doesn’t it?

But where is Doc? I aim for the green dot on the radar until the green marker appears in the middle of the screen. Far away, Doc is in a hot dogfight with the last Vossk. I fire the booster and hurry to help him. The Vossk doesn’t last 10 seconds under fire from both our lasers. BOOOM – and Vossk wreckages flies through space.

No mercy for GOF iPhone aliens

Christine has the first delicate mission for me. A Vossk weapons convoy has been reported. Together with Christine’s wingman, we go hunting to stop the delivery. We fly in formation for a while. I enjoy the view of the smoothly flying Terran fighters with their triple engines. Suddenly, enemy targets pop up on the radar: three large Vossk freighters with an escort of four Vossk hunters. We break formation and dive into the fight. Now I have to keep an overview. My weapons are intelligent enough that they only hit enemy objects, but with a total of seven ships constantly circling between the gigantic freighters, you have to watch out who is behind whom.

I quickly identify the pirate whose hull is already heavily damaged. His evasive manoeuvre does him no good. With a little effort, my lasers find their target. They tear apart the enemy spaceship with a tremendous explosion and a mighty fireball with a secondary ring impulse spreads through space. Quite a sight. In the meantime, my wingmen have done good work, only one fighter can still be seen on the radar. Not for long. The remaining Vossk doesn’t stand a chance against three Terran hunters, and his life also ends in a ball of fire. The three Vossk freighters are now defenceless against us. We attack them one after the other. Their hulls are strong, but they can’t withstand the constant fire of our lasers forever, and gigantic explosions tear the enormous freighters to pieces. Satisfied, we turn for home.

To be continued…

Tags: Fishlabs, Galaxy on Fire, Games, iPhone, sci-fi, Shooter, Space

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