Uridium is a science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up originally designed by Andrew Braybrook for the Commodore 64, and later ported to other 8-bit machines. It consists of fifteen levels, each named after a metal element, with the last level being called Uridium (a fictional metallic element, not to be confused with the real metallic element iridium). The manual quotes Robert Orchard, who invented the name as saying "I really thought it existed."
Uridium was later released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Mindscape purchased a license to release a game based on the film The Last Starfighter. Rather than program a new game, however, Mindscape decided to take an easier route by recycling an older, relatively obscure game. The title screen, sprites, and soundtrack were modified, but the levels and gameplay were identical. In 2003, it was re-released on the C64 Direct-to-TV.
In 2008, the C64 version was announced as a title on the Wii Virtual Console. On 28 March 2008, Uridium was released for the Virtual Console in Europe, costing 500 Wii Points.
Uridium 2 is a 1993 science fiction side-scrolling shoot 'em up originally designed by Andrew Braybrook for the Amiga. It is the sequel to Braybrook's earlier Commodore 64 game Uridium. Braybrook kept a diary of the game's development in late 1992, which was published in the British computer magazine The One.
Uridium 2 retains the same setting and gameplay of the original Uridium, but the presentation is highly improved, thanks to the Amiga's better graphics and sound capabilities. The sprites and background objects are more detailed and more colourful, and the sound includes a souped-up version of the original Uridium theme tune, as well as PCM sampled speech announcing important in-game events.
Gameplay improvements include a simultaneous two-player mode, power-ups left behind by shooting enemies, a radar screen at the bottom of the game screen, and an improved mini-game when the player reaches the dreadnought's reactor core: instead of a simple quick-draw test to disarm the reactor, the player now gets to actually shoot at the reactor core using a drone pilot.
I don't wanna know where you wanna go
I don't wanna see who you wanna be
You told me that you'd listen to the words that I would say
Part of me had told me that I'd never see that day
Think of all the times you could have thrown it all away
When everyone, everyone said I had to make you pay
Let's not mend what we cannot repair
Mainly 'cause I'm only just a spare
Our time is wasting away
What do you want me to say?
I'm losing nerve day by day
And then you turn and run
I don't wanna know how your body grows
You took it all from me, and you hit it on the nose
Think of all the times you couldn't think of things to say
Now everyone, everyone said I had to make you pay
I can't find the means to understand
You'd never guess by how it all began
I'll be sure to take my time
You are not an enemy of mine
Our time is wasting away
What do you want me to say?
I'm losing nerve day by day