| ★ AMSTRAD CPC ★ GAMESLIST ★ STARFOX (c) REAKTOR/ARIOLASOFT ★ |
| TILT | Computing with the Amstrad |
Many 3D games have appeared for the CPCs overthe last three years and they largely fall into two categories -the Ultimate type corner-on perspective and the wire-frame efforts such as Starglider. Ariolasoft's Starfox was written by adherents to the wire-frame school of 3D video gaming - Real Time Software who converted Starglider. What's different about this one is that the frames are filled in giving solid shapes which are shaded to provide a convincing effect. Not completely new, but it's only been done a couple of times before and not to such great effect. The scenario is that the eight-planet Hyturian system is surrounded by a protective cube known as the Rubicon. This has been breached by a mysterious ninth planet whose inhabitants are now throwing their weight around and causing havoc in this peaceful backwater. As Hawkins, pilot of the Starfox, your mission is to save life, the universe and everything from the alien undesirables. I bet that when the aliens finally show up they'll turn out to be jolly nice chaps finishing off the software industry at a stroke. Anyway, the game has eight levels and you must complete a mission before progressing to the next.
You can call up a holographic representation of the Rubicon for navigation with the planets plotted within. At first you can't see any planets because they aren't programmed in and they only appear in the holocube as you stumble across them in your travels. The worlds are all hidden from view and when you draw near one a warning sounds. You can make it your destination by using the auto-pilot log. On approaching the invisible planet a worm hole in space becomes visible. This looks like a corridor of squares floating in the void and as you fly through them the stars fade away and the planet appears. You're now in orbit and have a chance to dock with the mother ship. Here Starfox's fuel is topped up and you can select beefier armaments. Unfortunately the aliens can deduce the design of your weapons when they're deployed and will start using cloned versions and suitably improved defences on the next level. Is the ninth planet populated by Taiwanese, I ask myself? You must choose something that keeps you one step ahead without accelerating the arms race so that you end up using the most potent hardware too early. There's a strong element of strategy, and play is further complicated by limited fuel supplies which can be replenished from fuel ships as well as the planets. You also have to contend with storms which can destroy Starfox's shielding if you fly through them in turbo mode. The graphics are impressive and technically very clever but here lies the flaw. The screen update is so slow that to compensate the programmers have opted for large jumps between sprite positions making for jerky, porridge-like handling. This is most noticeable in the battle sequences and it's frustratingly difficult to draw a bead on your target. Matters are improved by a homing device but in pursuit of spectacular effects I feel that some play-ability has been lost. Despite that, Starfox is a great game and one I'll be spending a lot more time playing. You can save a part completed game and the more you learn the better it gets. Ian Sharpe, CWTA (Australia) |
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Page créée en 337 millisecondes et consultée 4173 fois L'Amstrad CPC est une machine 8 bits à base d'un Z80 à 4MHz. Le premier de la gamme fut le CPC 464 en 1984, équipé d'un lecteur de cassettes intégré il se plaçait en concurrent du Commodore C64 beaucoup plus compliqué à utiliser et plus cher. Ce fut un réel succès et sorti cette même années le CPC 664 équipé d'un lecteur de disquettes trois pouces intégré. Sa vie fut de courte durée puisqu'en 1985 il fut remplacé par le CPC 6128 qui était plus compact, plus soigné et surtout qui avait 128Ko de RAM au lieu de 64Ko. |
