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Hi ho Silver, and away we go into the sunset on a brand spanking new Go! game. Go west young man, and don't spare the horses. But if you can find a horse in this epic futuristic wild west arcade adventure you are a better man than me! Dig that groovy bit of animation as our hero 'rides' into the sunset astride his faithful, but horseless saddle. Can't they draw 'orses'?

We've had every other toy conversion under the midday sun, but you ain't seen nothing yet! Bravestarr is a down-to-earth, frenetic shoot 'em up, that relies heavily on an adventure scenario to develop the plot.

Take control of Bravestarr and use his six-shooter laser gun to decimate the followers of the evil Stampede. Along the way, certain buildings have to be entered and clues found to enable you to travel to other parts of the planet. A scroll at the top of the screen to start with only depicts two areas to explore, but as clues are found, more pictures are added to the scroll. Moving a pointer to a picture activates the phantom saddle that allows our hero to reach that area.

Sounds complicated, but it works like a shoot 'em up version of, Redhawk. And dammit, it works very well! Bravestarr is (he says, reading the advertisement blurb) a conversion of the top selling Filmation/Mattel toy/cartoon series. Can't say I have ever come across it before, but if this game is as good as the cartoon, I'll be glued to the box next time it's on. On the wild, wild west planet of New Texas (turn left at Tau-Ceti, then ask) something's a stirring. This something turns out to be Stampede and his thoroughly nasty followers. Stampede's aim is to bring to life long dead creatures that once roamed about the planet, and to use these poor creatures to his nefarious ends. To fulfil this task. Stampede kidnapped an indian mystic called Shaman in order to utilize his magical powers.

Bravestarr, who also happens to be the Marshall of New Texas is unhappy about all this, and vows to put the damn yankee straight on a thing or two. Things may be a bit tougher than he thinks. Tex Hex, a despicable character, has joined Stampede in his fight. Tex can stand up to quite a battering before you can sling him in jail.

The action is similar to games like Cobra. Creatures attack from all sides, and in a variety of forms. Contact drains away time from the nine day limit, collision with large bombs wipes away a hefty chunk. Things are quiet at first, but your joystick will be melting after a very short while.

Bravestarr plays like a genuine arcade game. It begins reasonably tamely, but soon builds into something special. The adventure slant gives it a unique feel, and lets you have a well-earned rest in the middle of the game (if you need it). The graphics are excellent, and although the central characters are a little small, they are all animated to perfection.

Bravestarr is a voyage of discovery, and I'm glad I discovered it.

Excellent shoot-'em-up arcade game with more than a twist of problem solving. This is one to melt your joystick.