Astariel (2002)
Astariel is a game I’ve been tinkering with for a long time. I began it last century I believe! There have been many incarnations over the years – of which the file linked below is but the latest (2003 or so). I think I must have a variable personality disorder, as wildly different versions go in and out of favour with me. I currently don’t like the latest version. I think the smiley faces are silly and the mouse control should be scrapped. I’m half inclined to make this happen. Below is the “official” blurb – which I also think is a little silly.
Astariel is a fun retro arcade game requiring quick decisions and even faster reflexes.Blast your way through hordes of colourful and frenetic alien attack waves in a battle to reach your home world Astariel. Astariel features a beautiful 3d lighting and an exciting 2-player mode using Mouse-Party™ technology.
An easy-to-play quest for world high score glory that should appeal to a wide audience,
Astariel features 40 powerup crates to collect, 5 planets to visit and 150 waves of colourful alien formations to conquer.
System Requirements
P1.5 Ghz CPU
512 MB RAM
32 MB VIDEO CARD
DIRECT X 7.0 or higher
25Mb of disk space
On a Windows PC
Win XP (or higher) is required for Mouse-Party™ 2 player mode.
Controls
F1 – shuffle music
F2 – frame rate
F3 – display music track name
F4 – Two player mode
F5 – Toggle player readout
Use the mouse to control the ship.
Left mouse: Fire
Right mouse: Shield
Other mouse button: Regenerate
That game is decent. You can definitely build on many of the options in it to make it better. I would not scrap any of it
But then again I am not an artist 
Hi Megazell. Yes I think the gameplay mostly works – although there is definitely room for improvement. But there’s a minor snag to overcome… I’ve lost the source code!
Excellent. Thank you for giving this away. I agree with Megazell, don’t scrap any of it. Nice work.
I though I recognized Astariel. The name triggered something in my head and then I remembered; I actually bought this about 4 years ago from Reflexive games. Great that you’ve made it freeware. Nice one.