Universe: Unknown

In 2038 AD, the United States of America, Europe and East-Asia joined their
forces in the development of space technology. The joint venture was called
STAR (Space Transport And Research). One of the goals of the joint venture was
to explore the possibilities of transdimensional voyages to the nearest star
system, Alpha Centauri. Six years later, a prototype of the transdimensional
drive was completed. Test pilot Jim Benson is to take the craft on its maiden
voyage. In a technical mishap, too much energy is injected into the drive, and
the Einstein-Rosen bridge doesn’t work out as calculated. Instead, Jim ends up
in an unknown part of space unidentifiable to the board computer. Universe:
Unknown!

As a game, U:U owes much inspiration to Konami’s classic Nemesis games for the
MSX. Horizontally scrolling (albeit at a jittery pace, due to being programmed
for the MSX1), your sole spaceship must shoot down wave upon wave of alien
enemies. Killed enemies often leave behind upgrade capsules for your weapon.
The weapons are similar to Nemesis, containing both bullets and lasers as well
as bombs and auxiliary weapon pods; so-called options. The weapon system
differs somewhat, in that you can choose freely between different weapons as
long as you have collected enough upgrade capsules. A meter at the bottom
shows your current weapons energy level.

After a beginning in open space, you enter a system of caverns. Just like in
Nemesis, this requires both precise timing and precise memorisation of evasive
manoeuvres. The usual enemies, such as turrets, pods which spawn clusters of
enemies, and falling pieces of the terrain are all present. Choosing the right
weapon for the task helps, but manoeuvring is the decisive element in
surviving the often cramped caves.

This game made second place in the MSXdev ’05 coding contest.