Although a pretty standard shoot-everything-in-sight kind of game, Meteor features some puzzle and strategic elements to make things more interesting. In some missions, you will need to disable force fields and raise bridges by finding and activating switches and buttons, taking cover behind friendly units who will attack enemy units they see, and even use helicopters to fly you over destroyed bridges or out of danger. There are ten weapons in total, each with its own characteristics and many requiring ammo to use.

The game’s user interface is not very intuitive: the right mouse button is to aim, and left button is to fire. But once you come across automatic-fire weapons, the advantages of this scheme become clear. One gripe I have is that you must move Ash in absolute directions (i.e. up is always toward the top of the screen no matter which direction he is facing). He also seems to move a bit too quickly – this makes getting into small doorways a tedious affair, although slowdown programs seem to help.

To round off this excellent freeware underdog, Meteor includes a full suite of game-editing tools that let you customize and build your own maps, as well as units and weapons. If you enjoy military shooters, Meteor is an excellent underdog that will keep you entertained for hours. Highly recommended.

Note that there is now a sequel, available on the author's site along with all his other games.