Reviews

This really is one of the finest strategy games on the Spectrum it has to be said. Julian Gollop, with this release, took the very best of the excellent "Rebelstar" formula he had previously gifted the ZX world, and wrapped it up in a graphical make over, and control system simplification. With these changes, it soon quickly became a game that brought non "strategy heads" on board to the delights of this space based classic.Even hard core shooter fans couldn't deny the fun to be had in firing rocket grenades into a room full of enemy troops, and explosive gas canisters. What a blast !

A great game for both 1 and 2 players, its 5 scenarios (plus few more released later) offer good variety and game time.
Much of the attraction is the way that every game plays different to the next, with the (sometimes dodgy)CPU AI, usually offering a challenging and unpredictable opponent.
The replay value is in trying different ways and tactics to obtain your objectives, and so the variety of weapons, amour and starting positions, allow the player to try out new plans of attack.

In short..it never gets dull.

Some very good news with this game, is that the Speccy version is by FAR the nicest of the 8-biters, and even the fancy music and more colorful graphics of the 16-bit releases, can't disguise the rather sluggish control system they had. IMHO.. the Speccy 48k (and more so the REMIX 128k) version is the best one there is !

Alongside Chaos, this is largely considered Mr Gollop's best work.. and for a very good reason.

A Classic.

A tactical combat game in the same mould as the earlier Rebelstar Raiders and Rebelstar games, this further refined the concept with an improved user interface, more sophisticated game mechanics and multiple scenarios.

Graphically, it's all you could want from a turned based strategy game with a detailed scrolling map on which the action is played out. There are even some good animated effects when weapons are fired and stray shots will serve to damage the scenery; you can even aim deliberately at some objects to make them explode.

There are five scenarios, plus an expansion pack with two more, which gives plenty of variety. I particularly enjoyed the Rescue from the Mines where a small team must break in to free some prisoners and the combined force escape past a larger force of guards. It's great as a two player game, although the computer opponent is quite decent and there are assorted difficulty levels which you can use to shift things in the computer's favour.

All in all, it's very much the pinnacle of the genre on the Spectrum; the later Lords of Chaos uses the same system with a fantasy theme but has less scenarios. Gollop would later revisit the system to make the game Laser Squad Nemesis for the PC, and its influence can also be seen in his classic UFO: Enemy Unknown.

If I was given the possibility of awarding this game with a 6, I'd gladly do it - and for it only.

This is my favorite Spectrum game ever, combining an excellent presentation with thrilling gameplay which makes your choices crucial in directing the balance, turn after turn, towards victory or defeat.

The presence of so many different scenarios, each with its own peculiarities, and difficulty levels means any game will never be the same as the previous one, making it immensely replayable - which for a Spectrum game is a not so frequent quality.

Crème de la crème - nuff said.

Julian Gollop was the king of 8 bit strategy games and this is perhaps his crowning achievement. By taking the blueprint from Rebelstar and making it more user friendly, he created a game that even non strategy enthusiasts can enjoy. The controls are simple and all actions can be performed with the joystick and some easy to navigate menus. With 5 scenarios and various difficulty levels for each, the game packs a sizeable challenge. There's also a 2 player mode although as this requires the other player to turn away from the screen when it's your go, it's a bit pointless.

Much appluded strategy game that I didn't know back in the day and which lives right up to its hype now, under emulation. So much tension as each turn unfolds...