Centaur has it all! Great artwork, gameplay, and lots of drop targets! As you say, way ahead of it's time. Here's a beautiful restoration that I picked up over a year ago...
http://s1205.photobucket.com/user/snaroff/library/Centaur?sort=3&page=1
After getting Centaur, I decided to beef up my 80's lineup with Fathom and Paragon. A great threesome