Novenia was once a peaceful and prosperous world; now it's an obscene battle-scarred waste, under attack by a race of evil beings known as the Egrons. Novenian resistance is negligible, and the Egrons will soon control the planet.

Enter Jaysan and Katra, two brave souls determined to eradicate the Egron threat. The fate of Novenia lies entirely in their hands and their only hope is an ancient fighter - an Airborne Ground Attack Vehicle (AGAV). Fast. Manoeuvrable. Armed with twin lasers and one missile. Protected by an inferior shielding device.

Novenia's surface is divided into a grid, 100 units by 100 units. The view from the AGAV's cockpit is presented using vector graphics, and the viewscreen is surrounded by instrumentation. Horizontal and vertical status bars show the AGAV's energy, speed, height, shield strength, and laser power. A scanner in the centre of the control panel acts as a radar, showing activity around the AGAV. Below this, the ship's co-ordinates are given in numeric form. A set of sights is constantly displayed in the centre of the screen, and is used as an aid for positioning the AGAV and shooting enemy craft.

Dotted around the planet's surface are four rotating repair depots. When the AGAV docks with a depot, laser energy and shields are replenished, all damage is repaired, and an extra missile is provided - storage space permitting (the AGAV can only carry two missiles at a time).

The depots house computers, which can be interrogated to reveal data on the seventeen different Egron attack craft. These include armoured transport vehicles, battle tanks, and five different types of fighter, all of which can be destroyed with repeated laser fire.

Walkers are large box shaped creatures which walk around the planet on two spindly legs, depositing missile launchers. Stompers are similar in appearance to the Walkers, only they are hardier and far more aggressive. Walkers and Stompers are impervious to laser fire, and can only be destroyed with a well-placed missile.

Deadliest of all though is the leader of the Egron fleet: Starglider One, which patrols the planet at a leisurely pace, shooting anything remotely threatening - such as ancient AGAV fighters. It takes three direct hits with missiles to destroy the Starglider.

After 10,000 points have been scored, the Egrons become tougher and more hostile. When 20,000 points are obtained the AGAV is called in to dock with a depot, so that Jaysan and Katra depot, so that Jaysan and Katra can be sent on a special mission.

After thoroughly reading through the mildly interesting novella and lengthy instructions, I sat down to play what I thought was going to be something very special indeed. However, it didn't take long to discover that Starglider is little more than a 'pretentious' 3D shoot-'em-up, trying to be something it isn't.

"Cosmetically", Starglider is competent enough. The title screen tune is pleasant, but unfortunately the spot FX are weak. The vector graphics are rather jerky, but once you get absorbed in the proceedings then everything works well enough. However, the effect of flying is poor and detrimental to any atmosphere generated.

To be fair, there's nothing like Starglider on the C64, I suppose the nearest I've seen to a game of this type is Stellar Seven<.a> and Articfox, both of which are Battlezone clones.

Mercenary is also similar, but it is more of an arcade adventure than a 3D shoot-'em-up, so speed isn't overly important. However, in Starglider speed is virtually everything, as there is little in the way of captivating gameplay.

It's all very well producing a game with fact vector graphics - as far as the C64 is concerned.

But in Starglider's case, there's not much of a game to back up any technical achievement. I'm impressed by the effort but not the end result. I suggest you take a good look at Starglider and think carefully before you part with fifteen quid. That's a high expenditure for some slick packaging and a mediocre game.

Starglider looks like something really special. The packaging is glossy and the manuals lead you to believe there's a lot of game to sink your teeth into. Once you get to the core though, it all seems a bit stale.

The instructions are a mite misleading and tell you that there is an option to redefine the keys, when there isn't - pressing the relevant key *starts* the game!

The graphics are sparse - objects are deliberately set far apart so you don't get too many things on screen at once, and when you do encounter some Egrons, everything slows down.

The 3D effect works fine on the Egron craft, but the dots representing the horizon don't work at all! The AGAV really needs an artificial horizon to help gauge what sort of flightpath you're on. The worst part of this game though is the sluggish response to joystick movements. It takes ages for the AGAV to turn and chase after an Egron craft, and by the time you've completed the manoeuvre the target has usually disappeared over the horizon!

Overall, Starglider is vastly overpriced for what it offers.

Starglider is nothing special and is considerably flawed by its slow speed and response to directional control. In play there is no feeling of flying generated - the dots that make up the scenery more slowly and in a jerky fashion.

What really annoys me though, is that after blasting away and getting a high score the Hall of Fame is a real let down - black and white leaves me with little sense of achievement. Fifteen quid is a lot to pay for a reasonable game and a few flashy booklets.

Presentation 94%
Very good in-game presentation, and slick, but somewhat superfluous packaging.

Graphics 79%
Detailed information panel and competent vector graphics.

Sound 64%
Reasonable title screen tune. Weak spot FX.

Hookability 82%
Immediately addictive and deceptively easy to get into.

Lastability 61%
The speed and repetitive nature of the gameplay can prove quite tedious.

Value For Money 55%
Glossy packaging doesn't compensate for a mediocre game.

Overall 68%
Essentially a simple 3D shoot-'em-up, but a brave attempt at trying something which can't be done effectively on the C64.