FOUND IT!!!!

...yay for me, I know.  But isn't that what blogging is all about?  The little victories?  Now what will I have to nag at me all these livelong days?
Of course, I cheated.  I started thumbing through the pages of Atarimania, looking under the category of "Arcade-Miscellaneous."  Never in a million years expecting to find it there.  I mean, after all, it's a side scroller, right?  It's a bit like Defender, n'est ce pas?  Except that you can only go right, and there are no people to save.  Okay, well, it's a bit like Air Strike, is it not?  Forgive me... Airstrike, but without the ability to shoot.  And to a lesser extent, the second level of Lunar Leeper.  Love that game.
...no, seriously.  No ability to shoot.  Even Vorrak / Zardon lets you shoot to a limited extent!
Okay, enough comparisons.  You get to the final part of the level... make sure to get enough fuel.  You'll figure it out... and THEN you finally get to shoot!  However, it's at this point that the game feels a bit unfinished.  Maybe that's the programmer's thing, I don't know.  The gimmick they're known for, if only in the database world.  I mean, hey, if they paid $39.95 back in the day for this one, why not the next, right?  And the next after that?  I tried to get to what seems like the game's conclusion, and poof.  Error message.  Error message in Atari emulator.  Always depressing when an emulation breaks down.  Or never starts, like Floyd of the Jungle!  I gotta play different games.  Bristles, too.  Bristles really REALLY doesn't work in emulation form.  Especially when you turn right.  Or maybe left.  If there's a way to play Bristles and not have to back out of a corner... AND THERE ISN'T... okay, on to next game.  Also, the reward structure of "Dark Star" is a little weird.  I mean, why should a person get points just for moving?  What is that?  That's just inflation!