Probably one of the top games to land on a list of "games you'll never see remade," Crystal Quest isn't even in the memory of many gaming fans. An obscure Mac title (and later Apple II), this shooter offered some different mechanics to help it stand out, including inertia and a focus on collecting. Only one of those makes it into this remake.
Originally programmed on the Apple II by Bill Heineman, Crystal Quest is dated. Included in this Xbox Live Arcade version is that original game, and even when comparing it to the likes of other similar shooters in the Arcade, this one doesn't stand a chance. The concept is simple: collect the crystals, shoot the enemies, and escape through an ever-shrinking hole at the bottom of the screen.
Most of that is kept in this update. However, the basic mechanics have been ripped out. One of the interesting features of the original was the ability to "drop" shots, by using the physics to stop the ships bullets. In other words, the speed of the bullets was directly affected by the movement/speed of the ship. That's not the case here.
In fact, the solid silver ball players control has upgraded to some form of super machine gun, taking a lot of the strategy with it. As such, it doesn't separate itself from the likes of Geometry Wars enough to avoid the direct comparison. What it has going for it are the crystals, which is where the Robotron comparison is brought in.
The difference between the Williams arcade classic and Crystal Quest is that its collectables are stationary. Your ship is required to fly around the screen, weaving between various hazards, and shoot enemies as they pop out of the generators on the sides. The problem is that on the default difficulty and even on the first 30 or so levels, this is dull. It's devoid of intensity, and in most cases, it's better not to shoot at all.
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