Previous Next

Star Raiders circa World War II. Despite the army fatigues this is pretty standard shoot-'em-up fare, in which enemy fighter planes whirl and tease your straining gunsight. You've four difficulty levels and thirty missions to complete, which vary between high-level bombing sorties and low-level rocket attacks (phew!). It must be said that considerable effort has been made to turn this into an authentic flight simulation/arcade hybrid. Rather cleverly height and movement all have relative effects upon the action and the flight deck details any damage done to the ship.

You also receive messages from the pilot during the mission - nothing inspires confidence like being rubbished over the airways! But despite this fine realisation I found the game a little lacklustre. All the careful embellishments tend to slow down the on-screen action.

I also disliked having to negotiate the Softlock security code every time I donned my flying goggles. Like Jet Set Willy, the game comes with a numerical grid which must be consulted prior to entering your Lancaster. At least this version isn't colour-coded and so doesn't alienate those colour blind/black and white TV owners. Small mercies, eh?