Contra as a shmup? That’s exactly what S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team is like. In fact, it looks exactly like a Contra game, as the graphics looked ripped directly from Super C, and the sound effects and music are probably from that game as well. Not that it’s a bad thing, as the visual and audio presentation in S.C.A.T. is great. Even the lightning strikes in the background of level one look awesome. What is the main difference from Contra? A life bar; there are no one-bullet deaths here.
You control a cybernetic fighter who traverses through the levels with a jetpack, as you try to destroy all the invading alien enemies in your path. Your fighter’s movement looks a tad odd, as he or she literally hovers, with legs that don’t have any animation aside from flipping left or right. Your character’s upper torso, however, will jerk back and forth whenever your fire your gun, and is detailed well enough. When you begin the game, you pick from two different soldiers, Arnold (Schwarzenegger) or Sigourney (Weaver). There is a two-player co-op option as well.
S.C.A.T. allows you to move in all eight directions, as you are scrolled though the stages horizontally and vertically. Your fighter is surrounded by two satellites, which can spray fire in any direction, though your character is limited to shooting to the left or right. This is a big plus because in a lot of shmups, you can only fire to the right. The game plays kind of like Abadox, with your character flying through the stages. Your soldier controls very well, so you have a chance against a myriad of enemies sneaking up behind you as you approach a dead-end.
The graphics in S.C.A.T. look great; a real treat like most NES shooters of the era. The game features a lot of varying colours and obstacles that have a cool pulsing effect, which is really rad when you pause the game and they’re still pulsating. The backgrounds vary, however, in quality and presentation. In one level, you’re in space, with stars all over the place, and in the next level, you are again in space, facing a large battleship, but the background is all black. No detail whatsoever. I guess one could say that when S.C.A.T. actually HAS a background, it looks damn cool.
In the third level, you find yourself speeding through a vertical tunnel, and you must avoid indestructible debris as you ascend at a break-neck speed. What makes this level neat is that while you cannot destroy the debris, you can move it out of your way by simply shooting it, so you have a chance to avoid being stuck behind a piece of metal or platform that won’t move. Aside from the final confrontation, the level bosses don’t seem very inspiring. They are simply large pieces of machinery, and a cliché “snake” boss that leaves and re-enters the screen from various openings. Certainly not on the level of the very unique and disturbing looking bosses from games such as Super Contra, R-Type and Gradius. Then again, not every game can look like Abadox. Now that’s a game with some creepy enemies and levels.
S.C.A.T. is a fun shooter, but way too short. It only has five levels, and they are not long enough for a game with that few stages. Still, the presentation of the game is done very well, and makes for a fun romp through a destroyed New York City through space and ending in the alien space station. The game is less difficult that most other shooters of the era, especially with the addition of a life bar, but not every shooter has to be a one-hit/cheap death deal.
Overall, S.C.A.T. is a great game, a gem that most people likely never heard of. The graphics are vibrant, the music is awesome, and the sound effects and explosion rock. Though it’s a tad less difficult than similar games, it controls smoothly and presents itself very well. S.C.A.T. is a game I highly recommend one play, even if simply to try a different approach to the shmup genre. Play it just for the lightning effects!