Micropede

You knew Centipede. You knew Millipede too. But Micropede? That was the guy who tried to make something smarter out of the classic and ended up with something nobody really remembers. The 1994 DOS result looks like an attempt where someone thought: I'll take that old golden idea and pump it full of steroids.

You move across the screen, shooting upward at undulating worms and their fragments so they don't massacre you. The basic arcade principles remain untouched. But while the original Centipede had beautiful simplicity, Micropede tries to be more modern — more levels, complex enemy patterns, special equipment. Graphics in EGA or VGA mode sounds nice on paper, reality is less dazzling though. You've got pixels, you've got colors, but they lack that synergy that existed in the original arcade.

Controls work as you'd expect — movement and shooting without unnecessary twists. But the further you get, the more you feel like you're in an arcade simulation rather than an actual arcade. The pace isn't right, responsiveness lets you down sometimes, and it's clear this isn't the machine where these things would be remade. Shots that feel like they're moving through honey.

Micropede isn't a bad game. It's more of a forgotten attempt to be better than to be faithful. Maybe you'll like it if you enjoy variations on classics without nostalgic attachment. But if you're after the original, you'll be disappointed.

Today it's mainly a curiosity for collectors of old games and those who want to see how the nineties tried to revive an eighty-year-old classic. You'll find it in your browser easily, it'll play in no time, and you'll know why everyone forgot about it.