Previous Next

These two games have been resurrected from the far distant mists of time and thrown together in a less than cheap package. Both originated in the very early days of the video arcade and will bring back nostalgic memories to many ageing zappers. Unfortunately they may not bring back the excitement.

Starfire is a 3D shoot-em-up Star Wars style, where evil Exidy fighters try to protect their freighters from your murderous fire.

The display is of the forward view from your cockpit and you are also given a radar scan of the surrounding space, your laser temperature, and fuel status. On screen from time to time will appear your tracking computer, which locks onto the enemy targets for a while if you can centre them.

The only other hazards are asteroids which can crash into you. The ships themselves come in three different colours: blue rookies, green senior pilots, and red enemy commanders. These are worth 10, 20 and 40 points respectively, with any freighter worth 50 points.

On each level you have to score enough points to gain a fuel bonus to allow you to carry on until the final sixteenth level. This is the main pressure, since shooting ships isn't too hard and a last minute panic to get the points is often called for.

Fire One takes you out of space and under the water, where your submarine has to protect its fleet from enemy sub and ships. You do this in a series of battles that take place within a time limit and are decided by who can sink the opposite sub or the entire fleet.

You are equipped with nine torpedo tubes and unlimited torpedoes. These can destroy both enemy and friendly ships so you have to aim carefully.

The screen shows a sonar scan of the whole playing area, and a periscope's view of the local area when surfaced. Indicators also show your torpedoes ready to fire, time left, damage to both subs, direction and speed, and your tracking computer.

There are eight types of ship and, unless you score a direct hit in their dead centre, they will take several hits to destroy. Each hit and sinking will score points, with the sub being by far the most valuable.

These are really ancient games which unfortunately don't live up to their packaging and are nowhere near Epyx's best. They might be okay as budget games or in a compilation, but with just the two of them most people will be left wanting. It brings the memories flooding back, but these are probably best left covered in cobwebs.

Epyx baffle me. How can they release such drivel as this, when they've given us such classics as Summer Games and Impossible Mission? Neither game on the tape stands up on its own, and they don't do too well together. They're very monotonous and don't hold any reasonable lasting interest. I suppose if you like archaic arcade decrepits, you could choose worse than this. But not much.

Back int' good old days, when I were no' but a lad I sat in this machine. I were really ace, like I were playing Star Wars ont' telly. Many years later, I look upon t' game with nostalgia and nowt else. T' graphics are bad and wobble about sommat awful. As for t' other one, it's just as old and just as bad.

Presentation 69%
Good instructions.

Originality 28%
Old games and old gameplay.

Graphics 39%
Jerky but colourful in Starfire. VERY crude in Fire One.

Hookability 29%
Initial nostalgia but nothing else.

Sound 38%
Banging and blasting effects.

Lastability 18%
Unless you like living in the past.

Value For Money 22%
Old favourites but new disasters.

Overall 35%