Acorn User


Return Of The Jedi

Author: Sam Greenhill
Publisher: Domark
Machine: BBC B/B+/Master 128

 
Published in Acorn User #084

Return Of The Jedi

Return Of The Jedi finally completes the Star Wars set, but frankly this is nothing to celebrate. After two very promising intergalactic games, Jedi is something of a letdown.

The first eave places you in the persona of Leia in the hot seat of a speeder bike. Your task is to race through the forest to the Ewok village, knocking off or shooting the pursuing Imperial Stormtroopers.

Another way to eliminate them is to lead them through a trap set by the Ewoks. The second rider through is always the unlucky one, being either crushed between logs or knocked off by a taut vine.

Return Of The Jedi

The viewpoint attempts to give a three-dimensional view of the scene and although in this it succeeds, it makes estimating the distance between yourself and trees very tricky.

The game has been written in Mode 0 which although it gives high resolution, doesn't allow more than two colours, and the bright yellow background can really hurt your eyes.

The Stormtroopers are pretty pathetic and the most effective deterrent is to do absolutely nothing! They come quietly up to you and give you a few nudges before hitting a tree or something. It is too easy to avoid them and too difficult to avoid the traps - I have yet to make it accurately through a log trap without smashing into a little Ewok!

Return Of The Jedi

Although there are three levels of difficulty, these are virtually identical and after a few games indistinguishable.

When the Ewok village is reached, the little bears all dance up and down in joy. However, the celebrations are short lived and you soon find yourself in a Scout Walker wobbling about under the control of Chewbacca.

The idea here is much the same, only this time you are leaping out of the way of logs and rocks. These come too quickly to avoid, no matter which level you happen to be on!

After the bunker is reached and blown up, releasing the protective shield surrounding the Death Star, the Millennium Falcon can swoop in, fly down a tube to the centre and shoot the central reactor which Darth has foolishly neglected to protect after his last Death Star was destroyed using exactly the same method.

Return Of The Jedi is obviously a rushed job and, while it does hold a few nice twists, I can't recommend it, even if you are a dedicated George Lucas fan.

Sam Greenhill

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