Gunstar

Your Sinclair

Graphics 8/10

Playability 6/10

Value For Money 5/10

Addictiveness 7/10

Overall 7/10

Rick Robson 7/10

Firebird £1.99 Reviewer: Rick Robson Tune up those trigger fingers, folks, 'cos here comes some frantic arcade action from Firebird that'll lead to adrenalin overdoses nationwide! Fast and furious aliens flying at you at a rats of knots are what you're up against, though the plot's all too familiar. Earth has been colonised by unknown aliens (again!) From your secret moonbase, you and your comrades, Pulse fighters of the Gunstar fleet, must liberate the planet. You have to battle through five screens to do it, though. First, zap the aliens while avoiding their fire - easy peasy, this, 'cos they fire dead slow and you've got high speed lateral, fore and aft movement. Then you've got to avoid the asteroids before spiking the guns of the alien command ship. That only leaves you the ALLOY robot's turrets to tackle before the menacing manoeuvre of docking with the mothership. On screen you'll find your three lives and your running points total - this turns into a cowering astronaut each time you bets the dust. You also see your temperature and fuel levels. It's no use trying to hide in a quiet corner of the screen - your fuel level'll drop to nothing and you'll be a goner. What Gunstar lacks in subtlety, it more than makes up for in high speed action and good graphics, that're wittily presented. It's a great way to earn your cosmic wings and reach for the stars at an unastronomical price!

Read it at Your Sinclair Rock'n'Roll Years

Crash

Presentation 74%

Graphics 58%

Playability 69%

Addictive Qualities 63%

Value For Money 70%

Overall 62%

Ben Stone

Mike Dunn

Paul Sumner

Producer: Firebird Retail Price: £1.99 Author: Software Creations Mother Earth has been invaded. A strange breed of sophisticated beings from a distant planet overwhelmed the World's primitive Star Wars defence system and enslaved the human race. The aliens seem to have settled in for a long visit and life looks bleak and futile for mankind. The only hope for humanity lies in one final plan. Hidden away inside a nearby moon a research team has been concentrating on creating a totally new type of fighter craft. Just in the nick of time their experiments come to fruition in the form of the Pulse Fighters. With an expert team of pilots know as the Gunstar Fleet manning these small but powerful craft, the enslaved population can stage an attempt to reclaim Earth. Time for you to step in... There are five levels to the game. The mission begins with direct combat as you meet waves of aliens on the vertically scrolling playscreen. After the alien fighters have been dealt with, fly through an asteroid belt, dodging the rocks until the alien command ship is encountered. To destroy the command ship, its gun emplacements have to be knocked out and then it's on to do battle with an alien robot that is defended with... gun emplacements. Finally, the mission comes to an end when you dock with the Earth Mothership and refuel the fighter ready to take on another wave of alien pilots and their fighters. Three Pulse Fighter pilots are in the Gunstar Fleet and at the start of a mission the name of the Space Ace you control flashes on the screen, together with a few personal details including his experience, hobbies and the sort of Pulse Fighter he's flying. When a pilot dies you move on to the next Fleet member. The score amassed by dealing death to aliens is displayed at the top right hand corner of the screen in the status panel along with your fuel status and engine temperature. An icon is highlighted to indicate which pilot is currently in the cockpit. COMMENTS Control keys: Player One: Q Accelerate, A Stop, S Rotate Left, D Rotate Right, X Fire. Player Two: I Accelerate, K Stop, L Rotate Left, ENTER Rotate Right, SYMBOL Fire. Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2 Use of colour: monochrome action area Graphics: a little basic perhaps Sound: minimal Skill levels: three Screens: 32