Zap!2000, by Astraware is a space shoot-em up game for your palm. The Zap!2000 homepage proudly proclaims , "Arcade gaming on the Palm has never looked so good... Zap!2000 brings to your Palm organiser all the best features you could want in a shoot-em-up game." Those are some bold statements, but the game truly lives up to its promises. Astraware has expended the time and effort required to offer us a game that will truly be enjoyed for hours on end.

I played Zap!2000 on a PalmVx as well as a PalmIIIc. Zap!2000 was stable on both machines, however significant slowdowns occured at certain parts of the game on the IIIc. More on the slowing of the game in the cons section.

Your objective in Zap!2000 seems simple enough. Blast your way through each of the five action-packed levels. However, the game is not quite as simple as it seems. Trying to stop you from passing each level are a multitude of different aliens coming after you from a variety of different directions. And even if you've managed to defeat allof the aliens, you still need to beat the boss awaiting you at the end of each level. Only after you've safely defeated the boss will you be allowed to move on to the next level.

The early levels are relatively easy, but the game gets progressively harder as you move farther along. As I played the game it seemed like there was no way that I would ever be able to defeat some of the bosses. To help alleviate some of the difficulty Astraware has set up a Hints and Tips page with cheat codes and other info that might enable you to defeat all of the bosses and finish your mission.

Here are some screenshots that will show you the great greyscale graphics in Zap!2000.

Check out the graphics available in the color version!

Meet the bosses of each level. Think you're good enough to beat these guys?

Pros: For those of you who think the biggest draw for a game is the graphics, then this is definitely a game for you. Astraware programmers have taken the graphics on the palm to the limit with this game. The color version, which has only a few levels at this time, is equally astonishing. I didn't think there was any way to improve the greyscale version of the game until I saw the color version. The action truly comes to life when played in color. This game is truly addicting. It won't take more than a few minutes playing Zap!2000 before you become hooked. Soon, you'll find yourself playing Zap!2000 even in your dreams. Well, you might not get quite that addicted, but the game will definitely increase the drain on your palm's batteries. Lucky for me that the IIIc uses rechargeable batteries so I don't need to keep buying batteries. Even after beating all the levels you'll keep playing trying to improve your score, or to get that allusive 100% kill rate. A feature of Zap!2000 that I really like is the ability to change the speed of the game. So for those of us not adept enough to defeat the bosses we can slow the game down a little giving us the slight edge that may propel us to the top. For those of you out there that are gaming pros, try beating all of the levels at the fastest setting. That should be quite a challenge.

Cons: Nothing negative to say about the greyscale version. The color version does seem to "stagger" or become sluggish when a large number of sprites is present on the screen. Upon close inspection it seems that if the number of sprites is greater than seven then you'll notice this slight slowdown in performance.

Summary: Zap!2000 gets a well deserved two thumbs up from PalmBlvd.com. This is definitely a game that I would recommend downloading. Whether you play games on you palm only when you've got a little time to kill, or if your main motivation for buying a palm was for the games, you'll enjoy Zap!2000. With over 50 aliens and a multitude of power-ups and weapons, Zap!2000 is going to stay on my palm for a very long time. More info can on Zap!2000 can be found on the Astraware website.

At A Glance
Summary:	A space shoot-em up game for your Palm Pilot
Pros:	Great graphics and sound. Highly entertaining.
Cons:	Color version a bit slow at times.