Game of the Day - Darius II

Darius II wasn't made for home gaming (unless you own the original ded cab).  But in some ways, that's what makes it fun on MAME.  The game was originally intended to be played on three (that's right,3) screens laid out horizontally.  Of course, it's a horz scrolling shooter with the usual spaceships, aliens, power-ups and satellite weapons.

So, when you play it in its natural state in MAME, the game is extremely letter-boxed on top and bottom in order to fit the proper aspect ratio because the game area is so damned wide.

BUT, in a few of ways, this makes it fun.  First off, there is LOTS of room left and right.  Obviously, since it was made to be played across 3 monitors, there's some space out there.  Second, because the graphics are relatively small, they are very sharp and very interesting.  The game did a good job with graphics anyway, and the "cave effect" of the aspect ratio makes them seem even better.  Third, and exclusive to MAMEing, you can change what you see on your screen.  In the MAME video setup, you can change the view from all three screens side-by-side as intended to any of: Just the 1st, 2nd or 3rd screen, or just the left or right half of the game area.  These alternate views really make the game interesting once you've scoped out the original view some.  Gotta thank the MAME programmers for giving us that opportunity.