3D Starstrike

ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment)

Spectrum, £7.95cs Amstrad, £7.95cs, £14.95dk A shameless rip-off of the Atari coin-op Star Wars, this three-year old wire-framer can still show the recent official (Domark) licence a clean pair of heels. Shoot the fighters in deep space, blast the towers on the battle-station's surface and dodge the flak in the trench as you head for that elusive exhaust duct. Terrific for its time, and great value nowadays if you can track it down.

Your Sinclair

Graphics 8/10

Playability 9/10

Value For Money 10/10

Addictiveness 8/10

Overall 8/10

Phil South 8/10

Classics £2.99 Reviewer: Phil South A re-release of a much loved oldie brings a tear to your eye, dunnit? It's like seeing old film of John Lennon, or Elvis (no, not Four-Eyes, the fat one!) or hearing that, although nearing geriatric age, Genesis is reforming to do a gig of all its old stuff... (Sniff!) it was with a sigh and a faraway look that I booted up this old wrinkly. O light! O joy! O de toilette! it hasn't aged a bit. By far the best 3D cockpit game of all time (and I spit on Starion, Time Gate, 3D Lunattack and so forth when I say this) 3D Starstrike was a real breath of fresh air at the time it originally came out. Real Time Software has gone on to prove that it knows a thing or two about 3D effects recently, with the sequel. That little baby broke a few heads, as you may well recall. It really is the closest thing to flying a real spacecraft, or so one imagines, and as a shoot'em up is really hard to beat for playability and excitement, even amongst the sophistication of today's games. Put it alongside anything new, and it stands up like a trooper. If you bought Starstrike II, but missed the first one, I advise you to patch this gap in your education. Well worth three quid of anyone's money!

Read it at Your Sinclair Rock'n'Roll Years

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 7/10

John Gilbert 7/10

3D STARSTRIKE Realtime Software Memory: 48K Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston, Cursor Price: £5.50 In the darkness of space the Outsiders gather to launch a final attack on the free galaxies. The only way in which you can save ensure their continuing freedom is to buy a copy of 3D Starstrike and track down these space cowboys who insist on zipping around the universe in X-wing fighters which look as though they have been high-jacked from Star Wars. By that we imply no criticism of the program. Gamers who enjoy blasting space ships, and who probably still own a copy of Space Invaders, will enjoy it. Take your position in the cockpit of a Starstriker and battle through the hoardes of Outsiders, all shown in line-construction 3D which has become statutory in such games, to the star base from which they launch their sudden attacks. Once you have entered the base you must take your ship through a narrow passsage, avoiding the ground defences and destroying the tops of towers which block your way. Once past the first stage it's on to the second where you must give a repeat performance. The only aspect of the game which changes to any notable degree is the score. Thousands of points can be achieved, even on the higher levels, in a matter of minutes using the ultra- manoeuvrable cannons. The enemy, totally incompetent and probably blind, if the accuracy of their lazer bolts is anything to go by, happily shoot on and off the screen until they are shot down in a collection of little 3D pieces. If 3D Starstrike had been brought onto the market a year ago it might have taken it by storm. Unfortunately it combines elements of other turkeys such as Terrahawks. That is a bad selling point especially since success is usually gauged by originality or programming prowess.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Your Spectrum

Dave Nicholls 3.5/5 HIT

Roger Willis 1/5 MISS

Ross Holman 4/5 HIT

JOYSTICK JURY From their bench on high, our regular panel of jurors - Ross Holman, Dave Nicholls and Roger Willis - pass judgement on the latest games software! You're probably getting used to our joystick jockeys by now but, for the record, there's gamester supremo Ross Holman; the hairiest of hackers, Dave Nicholls; and the fastest reviewer on two wheels, Roger Willis. WARNING! Just in case you find our scoring system too confusing, here's what it's all about. The score out of five at the end of each person's review is based on their own experience of the game. But that's pretty subjective... so they also use the HIT and MISS system to indicate its potential as a commercial success. STARSTRIKE Real-Time Software £5.95 Ross: About two years ago I first saw a game called Star Wars in the arcades and looked forward to the day when I'd be able to play such a game in the comfort of my own home. Well, that day's here as it's now available on the Spectrum. Starstrike has three stages; the first finds you out in space in control of a fighter under attack from various alien craft; the second stage involves you shooting the gun emplacements and towers on the alien moon; and third stage is in a trench (a la Deathstar) where you must avoid the bridges that cross it and shoot out more gun emplacements. Your fighter is protected by a shield which decreases in strength each time it gets hit by the alien. Like Dark Star this game pushes the Spectrum to the limits with some very fast line drawing routines. However, unlike Dark Star, Starstrike manages to maintain its playability. The speed sometimes suffers if you shoot a lot of things at once, but the 3D simulation and crisp response to any adjustments in your flightpath is superb.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)C+VG Game of the Month

Graphics 10/10

Sound 7/10

Value 10/10

Playability 10/10

MACHINE: Spectrum/keyboard or joystick SUPPLIER: Realtime PRICE: £5.95 Realtime's Starstrike is simply the best translation of the Star Wars-style arcade game seen on the Spectrum - with some new twists. Its a no-holds-barred space shoot out with excellent graphics and a playability rating that goes off C&VG's scale - well it does if you're a fan of the arcade machine like me! The scenario for the game goes like this. You are the pilot of a Starstrike spacefighter on a do-or-die mission to destroy the massive bases of an alien race known only as The Outsiders. These bases inside hollowed out moons are protected by squadrons of Outsider fighters - and the surface of the huge moons are covered in laser towers and other defence systems. The only way to destroy the bases is to fly down the equatorial trench and fire a well-aimed shot into the reactor chamber. Your Starstrike fighter is armed with lasers and protected by force shields - but these are depleted by enemy fire or collisions with the catwalks which span the trench. A read-out on screen tells you the condition of these shields - if it reaches red, then you're in big trouble. If you manage to dodge through catwalks and avoid enemy laser fire without being wiped out then you get a crack at the reactor. This is actually more difficult than the arcade machine version, believe me! If you destroy the base, you progress to the next difficulty level - where different features, like the big laser towers, appear. Starstrike's 3D vector-style line graphics are excellent and so is the presentation of the game. You get a brief pause in the action between screens as a battle-computer read-out flashes up telling you what's going to happen next. A pause that you need at the higher levels! If you've ever wanted one of those Star Wars arcade games at home then you'll love Starstrike. It's a brilliant game destined to become a classic - and a C&VG Hall of Fame game!

Your Computer

Overall 3/5

Lee Paddon 3/5

Spectrum 48K Real Time Software £5.95 Arcade Following up their successful version of the arcade classic 3D Tank Duel, this is an excellent version of the current arcade hit. There are four screens to battle through: a space battle with the Tie fighters, a low level run over the ground defences, the trench, and finally a shot at the reactor. There are many difficulty levels running from the turkey shoot to the suicide run. All stages are in 3D with your cockpit controls in the foreground. The controls are nice and responsive with climb, dive, roll and fire; a variety of joysticks can be used. Good meat-and-potatoes arcade action.

Personal Computer News

Overall 4/10

Mike Gerrard 4/10

PRICE: £5.95 PUBLISHER: Realtime Software [redacted] The title tells you a lot about this game - you're going to be either hurtling through space firing at missiles or hurtling along corridors. In fact you get to do both, though neither is a particularly thrilling experience for the seasoned Spectrum space pilot. The intention is to get a direct hit on an alien base's reactor systems; but first you have to fly through space to get there. Having set your controls for the heart of the Kempston, Sinclair or Cursor joystick, or even the keyboard (a sensibly wide range of choices), you choose from the four skill levels. Your sights are at the centre of your view through your cockpit, and sure enough strange objects start to come out of the screen towards you as you hurtle along. The panel at the bottom shows your shield strength, laser strength, skill level, score and status, this last moving from green through yellow to red. The 3D effect is achieved by simple wire-graphics technique, which never seems altogether convincing to me, but at least it means you can get a bit more in. You rush headlong through space for about half a minute or so, and provided you survive (not too difficult) you then rush headlong just above the planet's surface, firing at more enemy craft and also trying to shoot what appear at first sight to be goal-posts, but which turn out to be shoe-box type buildings - hit 15 of those for a bonus score. Next comes the corridor sequence, with the same nasties to fire at, but with the addition of barriers across the corridor to fly under or over. Then comes a strange little sequence where your sights are apparently locked on to the reactor pods you're after, so you fire furiously for a few seconds before it's back to the corridor to make your way out (which is much like making your way in). After that I'm not sure as this was usually where my shields gave out and the game abruptly stops, showing you your score and giving you a chance to start again. There's no high score table, but that's no great loss as I can't see many people wanting to knock up high scores at this graphically limited game with poor sound and few thrills.

CrashCrash Smash

Use of Computer

Graphics 93%

Playability 96%

Getting Started 91%

Addictive Qualities 94%

Value For Money 94%

Overall 93%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Realtime Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £5.95 Language: Machine code Author: Ian Oliver, Andrew Onions, Graeme Baird Realtime's second game, following their popular Tank Duel is another wire frame 3D game, set in space. This is one of the new generation of wire frame games for the Spectrum with fast moving coloured graphics. There are basically three different screens to play through, linked with computer 'tacticals' and culminating in a grand 'finale' scene. In the first section you are in the furthest reaches of space, fighting numerous alien fighter craft which hurl powerful plasma bolts at you. The object is to destroy as many enemy as you can by firing at them with the twin lasers, but it is also essential to destroy the plasma bolts as well to survive. The second screen takes place on a battle planet, covered with a variety of towers. Some of them are armed, indicated by their yellow tops, and these also fire plasma bolts at your craft. Surviving through this screen takes you onto the third, and down into the trench. The trench has laser blisters on its side, which fire at you. Again it is important to destroy the bolts as well as the blisters. The trench is criss-crossed with transverse bridges and side towers, which must be dodged by weaving in and out of them. At the end of the trench is a protective forcefield, through which you must fly. But to disable the field, the two rotating cubes to either side must be shot out of the way. Failure to do so, will result in your being forced back into the trench again. If you get through unharmed, then you are shot into space and you see the planet behind explode, before going onto the next difficulty level. The screen shows the status panel of your craft with the view beyond. The instruments show shield status and laser status, levels and score. The lasers overheat rapidly and take time to recharge. Shields are damaged by hitting enemy craft, towers, trench walls etc. as well as the enemy plasma bolts. COMMENTS Control keys: Q-T/A-G climb/dive, Y-I and H-K left, O-P and L-ENTER right, any bottom row to fire Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair 2, AGF, Protek Keyboard play: responsive and well laid out Use of colour: excellent Graphics: excellent 3D wire frame, smooth and large Sound: continuous Skill levels: 4 selectable but progressive up to and beyond 25 Lives: 1 with percentage of damage

On the planet attacking the battle towers.

Shooting away the cubes to get through the forcefield.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition