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Those trouble-shooting 'droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, have crashed on the moon of Auren where they have been captured by the Fromm gang and locked in a cell on the lowest level of the gang's hideout. Their friends are above ground, ready to collect the droids when they reach the surface.

The way to the surface is blocked by barriers and lifts controlled by computers which R2-D2 can hack via a memory sub-game. Gaining access to a computer requires a security pass from one of the patrol droids, which must first be destroyed with a deftly-lobbed crystal.

In Droids, the wonderful Star Wars characters haven't been used to anywhere near their full potential, and the game seems to consist solely of wandering through corridors, throwing crystals and playing Simon games to open barriers or lifts.

Graphically, the game is a mixture, with well-defined parallax scrolling corridor borders but blocky and unrepresentative sprites. In-game sound is sparse but the effects are appropriately robotic when they do appear, and match the Droids theme tune on the title screen. Overall, a wasted licence of what could have been a very interesting game.

The Star Wars droids don't strike me as suitable candidates for a computer game licence, and this release, with such weak gameplay, does nothing to convince me otherwise. The icon control method is a novel but ultimately unsuccessful idea because the icons are so poorly designed that they don't give any visual clues as to their purpose. The smooth and effective parallax scrolling is let down by poorly defined and blandly coloured sprites, which fall to create any sort of atmosphere but do manage to conjure up intense boredom.

All in all, unless you're an avid Droids cartoon fan, give this a miss.

Presentation 70%
An Invaders loading game backed by Hubbard's One Man And His Droid (droll!) music, but no game options.

Graphics 51%
Pretty parallax corridor borders but awful sprites.

Sound 56%
Reasonable Droids TV theme, and sparse robotic effects.

Hookability 68%
Ignoring the sprites, getting past barriers and killing robots is initially quite fun.

Lastability 39%
Repetitive backdrops and action don't amuse for long.

Overall 36%
An unlikely licence has produced an unambitious game.