Xenon 2: Megablast is a 1989 shoot 'em up video game developed by The Bitmap Brothers and published by Image Works for the Amiga and Atari ST. It was later converted to the Master System, PC-98, X68000, Mega Drive, Commodore CDTV, Game Boy, Acorn Archimedes and Atari Jaguar platforms. The game is a sequel to Xenon and takes place a millennium after the previous title. The goal of the game is to destroy a series of bombs planted throughout history by the Xenites, the vengeful antagonists of the first game.
Xenon 2: Megablast is the third major video game release by The Bitmap Brothers. Its subtitle is derived from the Bomb the Bass track "Megablast (Hip Hop on Precinct 13)", which serves as the game's theme music. The original release of Xenon 2: Megablast was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, with reviewers praising the detailed visuals, addictive gameplay, variety of weapons and innovative soundtrack.
Gameplay
thumb|left|An example of gameplay in the Atari ST version of Xenon 2: Megablast.
Xenon 2: Megablast is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up in which the player takes on the role of a starship pilot who must destroy five bombs planted throughout history by the villainous Xenites. It is the third major release by The Bitmap Brothers after Xenon and Speedball. Matthews reckoned that "everyone seems to be into destruction and extra weapons in a big way", and sought to satisfy this demand with Xenon 2: Megablast. The development team drew inspiration from Scramble, Gradius and R-Type, and attempted to deviate from the shoot 'em up formula by making the enemy characters less predictable and predetermined. The Megablaster's ability from the previous title to transform into a tank was omitted to make the gameplay more straightforward.
thumb|right|The title's namesake, "[[Into the Dragon|Megablast (Hip Hop on Precinct 13)" by Bomb the Bass, was arranged by David Whittaker and incorporated as the game's primary musical theme.]]
The game was programmed by The Assembly Line, who wrote the code on an IBM Personal Computer and then ported to an Atari ST. The game's subtitle is derived from this track. The arrangement heard in the title screen includes the samples from the original version, while the arrangement heard during gameplay is slightly stripped down. The development team had been eager to include the track in a shoot 'em up game, with Matthews saying "It's perfect music for a shoot 'em up. It's instrumental, which makes it relatively easy to reproduce on computer, and the title says it all." Rhythm King founder Martin Heath and Bomb the Bass headman Tim Simenon were both avid fans of computer games, and their favourable response resulted in "Megablast" being licensed for the game. After an additional showing at a promotions event by Mirrorsoft in Amsterdam, Xenon 2: Megablast was released in September 1989. On that month, a promotional sweepstake was run by Computer and Video Games and Mirrorsoft in which contestants who filled and mailed a postcard were eligible to win the grand prize of a Discman and a copy of the Bomb the Bass album Into the Dragon, from which the game's titular track originates. Ten second-prize winners received a copy of the game and a special limited-edition Xenon 2: Megablast t-shirt.
The Master System version of the game was programmed by Sean Cross and S. Green, was released on November 21, 1991 and has a reduced level count from five to three. In the same month as the Master System version, Epic/Sony Records also published versions for PC-98 and X68000 in Japan. The Sega Genesis version was programmed by Delvin Sorrell and released in February 1992. The Master System and Mega Drive versions were published by Virgin Games. A version for the Commodore CDTV, also programmed by Sorrell, was released in the same month, and includes a high fidelity remix of "Megablast" as well as voice acting for the character Crispin provided by Richard Joseph. A version for the SNES was announced the following month, but not released. A version for the Acorn Archimedes and other Acorn 32-bit machines was released in late 1993, published by GamesWare. On May 27, 2016, a version for the Atari Jaguar, created by AtariAge user Cyrano Jones, was released with Mike Montgomery's blessing. The Atari Jaguar version includes a new soundtrack composed by 505.