The Terraformers, disgruntled at being disbanded because of the huge expense their work entailed, have left behind the Beta-Auri system. This is a hostile series of fifteen spinning disc-pair planets, occupied by an elaborate system of alien guards to prevent anyone from occupying a world they didn't pay for.
The player's part in all this is to pilot a craft Defender-style, between the discs of each world and use a radar scanner and a laser to blast away the defending aliens so that the player can be made habitable once more. Being hit by the aliens reduces the player's shield level which is shown on-screen as a diminishing bar.
PG
Obviously, quite a bit of thought went into Fifth Quadrant's game design, and there would appear to be much for the players to do, but I'm afraid my lasting impression is that its complexity seriously limits gameplay.
I was looking forward to deciphering the Zimen language and reprogramming the computer, but the instructions give no clues as to how this should be done, so in the end, logging onto one of the wall terminals just results in confusion and lost time.
In the end the action proves too frustrating to be worth persevering with.
GH
Though by no means brilliant, Fifth Quadrant offers enough depth to warrant attention. Graphically, it's only mediocre, being a mixture of drab, sparse backdrops and dull sprites; aurally is combines a reasonable title tune with some fairly atmospheric in-game effects.
However, the choice of four droids - each with a noticeably individual character - the large number of rooms (a map is essential because there's so little difference in the backdrops) and a couple of intriguing puzzles save it from being terrible.
1st July 1988