STARGLIDER 2

Rainbird/Argonaut Software £14.99/£17.99

Commander Herman Kruud is at it again. He never knows when to give up does he? After his Ergon flagship was destroyed In the original Starglider, he got a bit miffed and is now back to get revenge. This time he’s taking no chances and has brought along a big space and land fleet to help him, plus he has a beam projector which is aimed at your home planet of Novenia.

Your mission is to sneak into the Ergon’s planet of Apogee unarmed and destroy the beam projector before it is fully constructed. If you succeed the evil forces of Ergon in the galaxy will be set back by many years, but if you fail your home will be destroyed and the Ergons will march on and destroy every other planet and solar system to create universal domination.

You have been issued with a brand new patrol craft for this mission, the ICARUS (Interplanetary Combat and Reconnaissance Universal Scout).

Starglider 2, as with most other Rainbird releases, comes with a novella that will probably take you a week to read before you start the game (and this only contains the story line!). The packaging also contains a play guide and key list: all necessary reading before you start.

The graphics, of course, are vector style, similar to Empire Strikes Back and Starstrike, but Starglider 2 has something that the other games didn’t have.... You can zoom around on a planet to your heart’s content, but if you get fed up just point yourself up and accelerate. You soon break out of the planet’s gravitational pull and move into space and off to amother world. A word of warnimg though, go too near the sun and Icarus melts, and that’s not a very pretty sight!

There is an excellent tune and plenty of effects to add to the atmosphere the 3-D creates. Starglider 2 is an essential purchase if you are a fan of this type of flight simulation.

NICK — 90%

Starglider 2 is big, like really big. But then, so is space. Yes, with a bit of the known universe at your disposal, it’s Stargliding time again. It surprised me how different Starglider 2 is from the original which was, essentially, a decent blaster. This sequel requires both some nifty trigger work and lateral thinking to solve the puzzles. Presentation is high, and the graphics are effective on planets and in space. Not a game to just pick up and play, but definitely one to tackle, persevere and enjoy.

RICHARD — 85%

Screenshot

RATING

Fast graphics, huge depth of game and plot make this a worthy purchase.
Presentation90%
Graphics86%
Sound84%
Playability80%
Addictivity81%
Overall87%