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Darkness. Cold and desolate space. From out of nowhere comes a faint ringing. Growing persistently louder and louder, the gentle ring becomes a blaring klaxon. Until, it is suddenly silenced by a distant hiss. The room is bathed in light from the fluorescent tubing. A muffled yawn comes from the egg-like compartment standing among a sea of cables. "Morning Teddy," whispers a throaty humanoid voice. "Morning Bryk. Time to get to work!"

Awaking from his cryogenic slumber, Bryk is the last hope for the peace-loving planetary system of Soul Star. Marauding Myrkoid forces, reputed as the fastest planet strippers in the galaxy, have turned up on the doorstep to replenish their stocks of fuel and goodies. For centuries, Bryk has pursued these plundering aliens, but this time he has them cornered for the scrap of the millenium!

From the team that developed Thunderhawk and Battle Corps, Soulstar has a similar look and feel to the previous two titles.

Defend the Soulstar planetary system from the Myrkoids using a Strike Craft, a Turbo-copter, and a Combat Walker.

Mastery of all three morph variations of the craft is a must in the battle against the Myrkoids. The manoeuvrability and speed of the Strike Craft assists in avoiding enemy fire and obstacles in the linear stages. More skill and strategy are required with the Copter and Walker, which exist in 3D 360 degree environments. Additional functions in these modes allow the Copter to alter altitude and the Walker to leap obstacles and enemies.

As with any shoot-'em-up worth its salt, a varied menu of armaments is essential. When you spot a 'P' symbol, shoot it and fly through the rotating circle to collect the bonus.

Once you have successfully completed the Warship level, three exits open up. It's decision time: whether to take the easy, medium or hard option. Bear in mind routes follow different paths, over different locations, but all lead to the final confrontation with an undisclosed boss.

Core have a well-earned reputation of turning out products that push the Mega-CD to the limit. Battlecorps was a great game, incorporating fast and furious gameplay with an original control mechanism. I'm glad to say Soulstar is even more impressive graphically and musically.

The different environments zip past at super sonic speed, the enemy sprites pile into you in sweeping formations. Add a touch of emotive orchestral music and you should have an excellent formula. But, tragically, Soulstar is missing the essential panache in gameplay to make it a Mega Game. Boredom quickly sets in after the first couple of levels because nothing very exciting happens.

The pace does pick up slightly during the Copter levels, but these are too few and far between. Shame really.

Soulstar is nothing if not a disappointment after Battle Corps. Using a very similar engine to construct the game takes away any element of surprise, and the gameplay is inferior, with none of the three sections sparkling.

The Strike Craft sections are particularly tedious, spoiling the enjoyment of target hunting on the Copter and Walker stages. But even these are too drawn out to stay interesting. Graphics and sound fare better, with a Williamsesque score and frequent impressive FX sequences. But as a whole, I was left unwarmed by the Soulstar.

Graphics 90%
P. Seriously spectacular! Stunning use of scaling, scrolling and rotation. Also great use of colour, achieving 64 colours on-screen.

Sound 93%
P. A beautifully orchestrated score worthy of a feature film.
N. Too often the music overpowers the FX making them redundant.

Playability 78%
P. The Copter sections are a joy to play.
N. The space flight and walker levels lack inspiration and timing, verging on being boring.

Lastability 80%
P. The tough difficulty setting, combined with three craft to master, and three routes of difficulty, make this a tough nut to crack.
N. The boredom factor on some levels does play a part of the equation.

Value For Money 79%
P. Represents solid value for money, with a substantial amount of game-playing hours.

Overall 77%
A damn fine piece of programming both visually and musically, but sorely missing the elusive sparkle of a Mega Game.