The Star Wars Trilogy

Sinclair User

Overall 80%

STAR WARS TRILOGY Domark £12.99 CONTENTS: STAR WARS: A bit slow and jerky, but has all the features of the arcade original. EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: Thrilling conversion of the coin-op - the best of the series. RETURN OF THE JEDI: Mediocre translation ruined by rancid graphics and putrid sound.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Overall 78%

Julian Rignall 78%

COMPILATION CRAZZZY Christmas is just around the corner, and just like every other year, that means it's time for software companies to start wheeling out compilations by the ton. Julian Rignal has been sorting out the bargains... STAR WARS TRILOGY CONTENTS: Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi Spectrum/Amstrad/C64 £12.99, ST £24.99 The first two vector graphic Star Wars games are nicely executed, and contain all the features of the original, the third one is a bit of a disappointment. One for the collectors...

AMIGA SCORES Overall: 81% Exactly the same criticisms as the ST package - the only difference is the clearer sampled speech on all the games. Star Wars fans shouldn't miss this.

AMSTRAD SCORES Overall: 80% The vector games are both excellent renditions of the arcade originals, and Return of the Jedi, although juddery is colourful and playable. Recommended

ATARI ST SCORES Overall: 81% Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back are both virtually indistinguishable from the arcade versions. Return of the Jedi packs all the features of the coin-op, but is let down by poor graphics and occasionally quirky gameplay. Still, this is a superb package for Star Wars fans.

C64 SCORES Overall: 63% The C64 isn't much cop at doing vector graphics, and the versions of Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back suffer as a consequence, with slow frame update making the game jerky to look at and tricky to play. The Return of the Jedi is blocky and doesn't really capture the atmosphere of the arcade original.

Your Sinclair

Life Expectancy 85%

Instant Appeal 92%

Graphics 75%

Addictiveness 86%

Overall 84%

Kati Hamza 84%

Domark £12.99 cass/£19.99 dis Reviewer: Kati Hamza If you can remember when Star Wars first came out, you probably use Grecian 2000 and still wear thermal underpants. Yup, you're a bit of an old dodderer! So here's your chance to reminisce by using The Force and all that stuff, not once, but three times 'cos Star Wars, The Empire Spikes Back and Return Of The Jedi are now available on one compilation. STAR WARS A slick little 3D vector graphics thingy this, which has you blasting the stuffing out of the Empire's Tie Fighters, laser towers and barriers before plunging into the trenches of Darth Vader's Death Star itself. Phew! Course, once you've done it you've got to start the whole thing over again but you don't care 'cos you're a Jedi Knight. Lucky that. One of the best-known Speccy games of all time, it's dated a bit but the 3D's fast and there's plenty of action. '89 Rating: 80° THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Well, blow me it it isn't another one of those vector graphics jobs. Good old Tie Fighters appear in this one as well but first you've got to stop the robots sending transmissions of the Rebels' power generator to nasty old Darth. Next come brilliantly animated AT-ST and AT-AT Walkers and after that you've got to negotiate a pretty hairy asteroid field. There's just a tad more sound on this but the gameplay's even more faithful to the coin-op than on the 16-bit. The pick of the bunch. '89 Rating: 86° RETURN OF THE JEDI Wossiss? Not a vector graphic in sight! Instead, you're slogging it out in the forest and the inside of, yep, the Death Star again. First off, you're on a speeder bike trying to blow up enemy bikes and making them crash into trees. Then you're negotiating the Millenium Falcon to the centre of the Death Star dodging Tie Fighters and watching out for energy gates before manoeuvring a Scout Walker through the forest again. It's a nifty little number this, but somehow it just doesn't match the atmosphere of the other two. '89 Rating: 74° And that's it. If you've never seen them before, now's your chance to experience the whole kaboodle in one go. It may not be the most original thing since sherbert dips but who's complaining when you get three ultra-playable classic Speccy games for such good value?

Blimey! It took a long time for Domark to get around to converting the old Star Wars arcade machine (it finally reached the Speccy in early '88, fact fans) and it's taken a long time for them to put it out on compilation too! Planting a proton torpedo or what have you in the Death Star garbage port (and so completing the game) is a bit of a doddle, but the action up 'til then is fast and furious.

Oi! Who's nicked the vector graphics? Return Of The Jedi is a bit of a different ball game, with heaps of fast, smooth, diagonal scrolling and nice control response, but perhaps a little short on substance. Duncan insists you watch out for the Ewoks at the end of Level One (the speeder bikes). They're "doing something that will make them go blind, or at least that's what it looks like," he confided. Blimey!

Yet more vector graphics in The Empire Strikes Back and - spook! - the Speccy version was programmed by Leeds-based Vektor Grafix! Small universe, eh? The joystick action is a bit odd (the cursor moves up the screen when the stick is pushed down and vice versa) and again some complained that it's all a bit too easy. But that said it's perhaps the best vector graphics blaster ever coded. Yowsa!

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