Uridium

Uridium
In-game screenshot from the first level of the Commodore 64 version
Developer(s)	Andrew Braybrook (Commodore 64), Dominic Robinson (ZX Spectrum), Steve Turner (Music)
Publisher(s)	Hewson Consultants
Designer(s)	Andrew Braybrook
Platform(s)	Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Virtual Console, MS-DOS
Release	March 1986
Genre(s)	Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player

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.

The plot of Uridium is described as follows:

The solar system is under attack! Enemy Super-Dreadnoughts have been placed in orbit around each of the fifteen planets in this galactic sector. They are draining mineral resources from the planetary cores for use in their interstellar power units. Each Super-Dreadnought seeks out a different metal for its metal converter.
Your Manta class Space Fighter will be transported to each planet in turn and it is your task to destroy each Dreadnought. First you must attack the defensive screen of enemy fighters, then you must neutralise the majority of surface defences before you land on the Super-Dreadnought's master runway. Once on board you must pull as many fuel rods as possible from the metal converters before you take off for a final strafing run as the Dreadnought vaporises into the ether.