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No longer available from Activision/Infocom/Mediagenic, Starcross can still be picked up at Commodore shows and retail outlets around the country - it is well worth hunting down!

The story takes place in the year 2186 - in a place where no-one can hear you scream - and opens with you onboard the deep-space black-hole prospecting ship, Starcross. You rendezvous not with Rama but with another gargantuan starship from the outer fringes of the Galaxy. Once you have successfully docked with the craft, you must gain entry to its mysterious interior. Inside you find a complex, engaging world and come face to face with aliens, both harmful and helpful. The huge starship has a greater purpose than mere cultural exchange however - it conveys a challenge that only you can meet.

This is a toughie. One of the first Infocom adventures I delved into, it remains one of my all-time favourites. Response time is slow but reading the screens of text helps pass the time while disk accessing takes place.

The first task incorporates the anti-pirate device supplied in the packaging. The computer wakes you to inform that it has detected a large mass in the vicinity. Reading the screen gives the co-ordinates of the mass and referring to them on the map provided with the package gives the bearing needed for interception. Without the map, there is no game.

The next problem is docking with the mass and entering it. A number of rods protrude from a likely looking airlock and need to be manipulated correctly to gain entry. Saving your position is highly recommended at this juncture as one mistake means failure.

Inside the hulk there are many weird and wonderful creatures to interact with, and strange objects to puzzle over. Infocom's usual attention to detail is omnipresent and most feasible inputs have been catered for.

Starcross will nicely fill that space on your shelf - intercept it at all costs.