Starblitz

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 5/10

Sound 6/10

Originality 1/10

Lasting Interest 7/10

Overall 7/10

Steve Cooke 7/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Keys FROM: Softek, £6.95 There's no doubt about it, this is the best version of Defender yet released on the Spectrum. It takes over the mantle from Crystal's Invasion of the Body Snatchas for two reasons: it offers sound to those who don't have a Fuller soundbox (as well as those who do), and it's more playable. Invasion was unbelievably hard to play - far harder than the arcade game itself. Star Blitz is a lot less frustrating. For those who were born yesterday, the idea behind Defender is that you're protecting a group of humanoids from being kidnapped by spaceships known as landers. You fly your craft across a scrolling horizontal landscape blasting the enemy and keeping a special watch for any humanoids being lifted away. When this happens, they cry out, and if you're clever - and fast - you can shoot the ship carrying them, pick them up before they hit the ground, and then land them back on the surface. If you fail, the humanoids turn into mutants which are a much more vicious type of alien. As the game wears on you come across many other hostile craft: swarmers, halters, bombers and pods. All these appear in Star Blitz. One of the best features of this version is the control system. This closely follows the arcade pattern: up, down and reverse with your left hand; thrust, fire and smart-bomb with your right. The keys are evenly placed. Even so, newcomers will need much practice. One disappointment is that the scrolling isn't completely smooth. I also found the tiny radar panel at the top of the screen very hard to make use of. Never mind, For Defender fanatics this is a must.

Crash

Use of Computer 79%

Graphics 90%

Playability 95%

Getting Started 90%

Addictive Qualities 90%

Value For Money 83%

Overall 88%

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Producer: Softek Memory Required: 16K Retail Price: £6.95 Language: Machine code This month's reviews include two major software houses releasing old arcade games, already well covered by existing Spectrum versions. The other is Bug-Byte's Cavern Fighter, and this one is Softek's Starblitz - a 'Defender' game. in both cases the results are excellent and go to show that a game need not be worn out if a really good improvement comes along. In a 'Defender' game you control an attacking craft which travels over the surface of a planet avoiding the alien craft, some of which fire mines at you, others which grab humanoids from the ground. You score points for rescuing humans. The ultimate aim is to destroy an alien base in some versions, in others it's merely to survive. The landscape scrolls continuously as you fly along, and there is a radar screen at the top which shows your position, the visible screen area, and the position of aliens and humanoids. As our reviewers discovered, Starblitz is an absolutely classic version. COMMENTS Control keys: Q-T = up, CAPS-V = A-G = reverse direction, U & I = thrust, 0 & P = laser, B = smart bomb Joystick: Fuller Keyboard play: very responsive Colour: very good Graphics: excellent, nice big aliens Sound: very good Skill levels: 1 Lives: 3

Above, the attack; below, a miscalculation.