The most intelligent and evil minds in the galaxy have conspired to create Red Eye: a mechanised natural satellite with a hollow core, able to move about the galaxy annihilating planets by means of its incredible power source, Octopus. To your alarm, Red Eye has entered the solar system of the Mother Planet and is on a clearly defined course towards it.

Being a peaceful world, your guard was well and truly down. The defensive fleet is crippled by a surprise attack, and only the Geo Force fighters have a chance of striking at the heart of Octopus and destroying Red Eye.

Converted from Namco's own Starblade coin-op of 1991 by Namco Home Tek, Starblade has a Star Wars-esque plot.

The battle takes place over a series of stages, each progressively closer to Red Eye. A meter in the top right of the screen informs you of the remaining distance. The areas are:

1. Home Fleet
   The initial fight wends its way between your own flaming battle cruisers.
2. Asteroid Field
   Stem the oncoming squadrons and outmanoeuvre the asteroid defences.
3. Enemy Fleet
   Your chance to wreak havoc on the spacecraft carries and motherships of the enemy.
4. City
   A white-knuckle ride is called for to outflank defences on the path to Octopus.
5. Canyons
   Steep walled ravines protect the entrance to Red Eye's command centre.
6. Maze Defences
   A dense construction in space forms the last extra-terrestrial defence of Red Eye.
7. Octopus Core
   Accessed by a narrow duct, the core is quite resilient to attack and launches a barrage of protective fire.

Converted quite faithfully from the arcade, Starblade has both the strengths and weaknesses of polygon games like Slipheed. There is no control over the flight path of the Geo Force, meaning the game plays identically each time.

Starblade utilises the Mega-CD's digital sound capability to create the babble of an intercom. You frequently hear the advice and orders of your wingmen (though these bafflingly bear little resemblance to what's going on). There are also lots of surround sound explosions, that deserve a good stereo system for full effect.

Not withstanding Namco's careful and comprehensive conversion, the main problem is changing the game from an arcade to home format. Starblade is both visually and aurally impressive successively creating a 'Star Wars' atmosphere.

Wah-hey, whack on some headphones, sit in a darkened room, and this is one heck of a sensory overload. The visuals are stunning, packing the screen with technically impressive graphics.

But the downfall of this genre is, as ever, the pre-programmd flight path. Interaction with the surroundings is pitifully minimal, resulting in a point-and-shoot affair that, after the first few goes, becomes samey. A good, but ultimately short-lived, effort.

Sound 89%
P. Excellent explosions and effects, and the CD vocal track is mostyle clear.
N. The commands of your colleagues are often repeated and have no context to the action.

Playability 86%
P. The trigger happy will be in laser heaven on the way to Red Eye. Gets tough.
N. No control over movement other than the cursor. It's shallow gameplay.

Value For Money 73%
N. Starblade at home doesn't compare favourably with a cheap thrill on the coin-op.

Overall 75%
An extravagance for shoot-'em-up fans, but by no means a bad game. Just one not naturally suited to a console.