Game of the Day - Cosmic Cop

Cosmic Cop is not the most complex game around.  But it tries hard to make up for its simplistic control scheme with beautiful graphics and superior action.  If you want a pretty, down & dirty horizontal shooter, you can't go wrong firing it up.

Most games of this genre that use two buttons use the second button for bombs.  Cosmic Cop replaces that with a laser.  Not your usual "shoot-straight-out" laser.  It locks on to nearby targets and holds them in its fire.  In fact, when the laser is powered up, it can shoot out in multiple directions and lock onto various enemies simultaneously, smithereening them in the process.  The problem is that the laser's power is reduced as you use it and soon the laser disappears altogether.   Then you have to wait for it to cool off and charge back up before you can use it again.  Of course, there is a gauge at the bottom of the screen to indicate the laser's status.  What's also cool is that the laser changes color from white to yellow to red as it is depleted so you know what's up all the time.

The bosses in Cosmic Cop are big and long-lasting ("that's what she said"), so the laser is important.   I use it 'til it runs out then get the fuck out of the way while it recharges, shooting my regular cannon to supplement.  A nice feature of the bosses is that there is an audio clue right before they fire as their weapons charge up - so it doesn't just blast you out of nowhere.

There isn't a lot else going on with the game, Irem's recipe of sumptuous graphics plus nice (but simple) controls plus lots of action (but not crazy-frenzied action) work well here as in most of their games.