★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ GAMESLIST ★ STAR WARS 2: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (c) DOMARK ★ |
A100% | Amstrad Action |
Long ago, in the early years of the second age... (that doesn't sound right) ah yes... Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away (that's better) there was a movie called Star Wars (OK, it was Earth 1977). The film did megabucks at the box office and subsequently, inevitably, there was a sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. Arcade games appeared of both films and furthermore Star Wars came out for the CPC, but not in that great a version. Now The Empire Strikes Back has arrived. Have they done a better job this time? Most of the screen is taken up with a view through your cockpit and the rest is a status area. The evil forces of the Empire are Viewed in 3D vector graphics as they attack. The status area has the number of shields, score, wave number and the number of enemies to shoot. You have five shields to begin with and death results when they disappear.
The sequence of events loosely fol lows the plot, of the early part of the film. There are four stages: probots, imperial walkers, tie fighter attack and the asteroid belt. In the probot stage you have to stop a message reaching Darth Vader which informs him of the rebel bases location. To do this you have to blast the messages as they leave the probot, and destroy incoming fire ana the probots themselves. Eventually the mes sage does get through and it's time to blast the walkers. There are two sorts of walker: AT-ST's and AT-AT's. AT-ST's are small bipedal attack craft that are easy to destroy. AT-AT's are much bigger and more tricky, but you can fly through their legs for bonus points. Stage three is a blast-the-tie-fighter sequence similar to the Death Star approach in Star Wars and the asteroid belt is a matter of dodging out of the way of the big rocks that hurtle towards you. If you complete a specific task in each stage you're awarded a JEDI letter and if you collect all four you become temporarily invulnerable to enemy fire. There are three difficulty levels and a rebel instruction manual, which just gives you a bit of information on the enemy that you're about to face. The vector graphics move a little slowly and there's some flicker. Colour is not used very well cither, there being only a handful on screen at any one time. Fast vector graphics are essential m a game of this type and unfortunately they're absent. A good tune plays throughout the game, but sound is simple and ineffective. A couple of years ago this would have .been a good game, but it looks dated badly. It's an improvement on Star Wars, but the lack of speed lets it down considerably. because fast reactions is what the Star Wars games are all about. What will they do with Return of the Jedi? FIRST DAY TARGET : Complete wave four GBH, AA |
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