Computer + Video Games - Commodore Is Awesome

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• Beware of the rogue hails „ I
MACHINE: C16/PLUS 4
▪ SUPPLIER: ARIOLASOFT
PRICE: E2,99
Os REVIEWER: PAUL
I
Starburst S is the product of
C+
t
VG's ace Hot Gossiper Tony
Takoushi's fevered mind. IT, as
anybody
i
who's read his page
knows, m eats, breathes and
sleeps e games_
t
His passion for arcade games
is apparently endless and it
certainly o shows in Starburst•
He's d tried to pack everything he
loves
e
about them into the
limited memory of the Cle•
c
Theplot is simple: The planet
Sistasis l has exploded, leaving
aPlastron
boulders floating in
rspace.
You must do battle with
these deadly rocks.
e In all there are three screens
ato
zap through plus a bonus
n screen in which a lot of points
iare
up for grabs.
You start the game with four
nlives,
shown in the form of
tcoloured
gauges at the top of
ethe
screen — orange, purple,
r
yellow and green. If a boulder
touches your ship, the gauges
ebegin
to pulse and decrease
suntil
eventually the game is
t
over.
.
Of the eight boulders or balls
zapping round, just four will
start the gauges pulsing, these
being the same colour as the
gauges. The other balls are
rogues and are generally
designed to annoy you.
The first screen has three
objectives. Firstly to shoot out
the "home slots" which are at
the top and bottom of the
screen. Succeed and this turns
your ship into a "bat" in which
to knock the balls into the home
slot. This much can only be
achieved if they can bang the
balls in cleanly at an angle of 45
degrees (I couldn't), Finally the
rogue balls must be guided into
the four corners of the screen,
Only when this has been
achieved can you get on to the
bonus screen. The remaining
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screens have similar objectives.
Starburst is a high speed
shoot-'em-up but which is
dazzlingly colourful and
designed to wreck the reflexes.
It's fiendishly difficult but, I
have to confess, I found it
confusing to play. At times
wasn't sure what I was
supposed to be doing with this
TT racer.
1
.10. SOUND
I1s VALUE
, PLAVABILITY
1
0
G
R
A
P
H
We don't think you'll find a boulder game than this
elk
aOs
MACHINE: ATARI 4
b. SUPPLIER: MASTERTPONIC
is
, Ills REVIEWER: HAKAN
pDowool P Ociwoo Boom!
Ratatatat R Yes, all these sounds
come I from LA Swat — which
isn't C about killing flying insects
despite E the name. It's an action
packed : offering that will appeal
to fans of Green Beret and
Commando,
E
2 Just when you thought it was
safe . to go back out on to the
streets 9 a gang of terrorists take
over 9 the West side of LA. Your
job is to clean up the streets by
wiping out the terrorists.
Simple, huh?!
No, not really, because you
also have to solve a hostage
situation at the end of each
level. Don't shoot the hostage
while you blaze away at the
manic terrorist or you'll live to
regret it. You get a bird's-eye
view of the streets — packed
with terrorists.
8 The terrorists look a bit like
skinheads. They are armed with
6 baseball bats which they use to
bash you with. They also have
grenades whch are deadlier at
longer range.
There are also snipers who
take pot shots at you — but you
can hide behind overturned
cars, a really nice graphic
feature this, and shoot the mad
gunners. No offence Arsenal
fans
You can also hide in the gaps
between the buildings to attack
the skinheads.
The only real gripe is the
scrolling — it's a bit slow and
not at all smooth. But the hectic
action soon makes you forget
all about this.
The city streets are well
drawn and the sounds are
simply brilliant. This must be
the best Mastertronic Atari
game I've ever played. Anyone
who disagrees with me can just
go and chew a brick!
Ns GRAPHICS
Os SOUND
Os VALUE
Ifs PLAYABIUTY
C+VG
HIT!
7
10
9
1.1