Star Crusader


Title		Star Crusader
Game Type	3D Combat Sim
Players		1
Compatibility	AGA
Submission	Richard Byrne

Review
  Star Crusader is a space combat game in the mould of the Wing
Commander series (of which only the first made it to the Amiga,
and is used for comparisons).  The whole Amiga press slated it
at the time, and quite unfairly in my opinion.
  It is 3D, has heaps of missions, tens of assorted things to
shoot, more options and configureability than any of its ilk.
The graphics, sound, AI (great wingpersons!) and game play are
generally superior to WC, but there are some faults which
conspire to rob the game of a good  measure of its fun.
  Firstly, this is a cut-down conversion of a PeeCee game and
has a tendency to be unstable, especially right at the end of
a mission.  Then there is the non-linear plot which clearly
isn't - there's one mission where you are offered the
opportunity to change sides.  This is done by destroying a
bomb, you shoot it, you are thanked for your help.... then
the mission starts again.  Doh!  Then there is the dog fighting-
against large ships this is fine, but let a fighter get too
close and it proceeds to "whoosh" and "swish" and duck and dive
around you at such a speed that they are IMPOSSIBLE to shoot at.
Soon you get seriously pi**ed at their prancing about and you
afterburn away and let the swine have it with ALL your
remaining torpedoes, then ram his escape pod, just because they
get so aggravating, thus running out of fuel and torpedoes.
Grrrrr!  The ships don't fly in a straight line either and
have a stupid tendency to  continually move to the top left of the
screen.
  There is a reasonable mix of missions and learning curve, masses
of key presses and combinations.  Way  more gratifying than WC, but
less forgiving, especially against larger ships.  You can
supplement your forces by crippling enemy ships, tractoring them
and taking them back to base, where you can use them yourself
later on.
  Star Crusader isn't great by any means, a 030+RAM sees it playing
smoothly, but a forgiving player or genre fan is also requisite.




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