THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE

STARION

PUBLISHER
Melbourne House

AUTHOR(S)

YEAR
June 1985

CATALOGUE NUMBER

CATEGORY
Strategy

DESCRIPTION
Starion is a 3D wire-frame shoot'em-up with puzzles.

CONTROLS
Keyboard, kempston, sinclair.

INSTRUCTIONS

ORIGINAL INLAY CARD TEXT

HINTS/CHEATS

SEQUELS/PREQUELS
None

SCORES RECEIVED

REVIEWS

"Starion" Review from Sinclair User No. 39, June 1985:

Battling with aliens in space to get a jumble of alphabetical
letters is an odd but original theme. Melbourne House has come
up trumps with _Starion_ where your powers at sorting out
anagrams will be called to the fore.  _Starion_ constitutes a
series of word puzzles and anagrams and is a fine mixture of
arcade style graphics ombined with strategy and superb 3D
effects. A good general knowledge of history an spelling is
essential.  The idea is to re-write 243 events in earth=92s
history over the last few hunfred years. Killing off enemy space
craft causes them to drop letters which when collected form a
word - though you have to unscramble it first to make sense. That
word will change one event in history but it is up to you to
choose the correct era.  The game is divided into time grids and
time zones grouped in blocks of nine. In each zone the letters
have to be collected and a word formed to enable you to fly
through the time warp - very tricky as its centre never remains
still. Once through you reach the time grid, which allows you to
choose the year to which your wordy cargo belongs and to head
straight for Earth. If the word fits, you will then have to
repeat the process in the remaining eight zones.  After
re-writing history in all nine zones battle recommences taking
you to a further eight time grids in the next block.  The screen
shows the view outside the cockpit with your laser guns cross
hairs firmly centered in the middle. Aliens and flying debris
hurtle towards you at great speeds giving the impression of
flying forwards. It is no mean feat to hit the aliens due to
their speed and herratic movement. Debris should be dodged to
avoid damage to the craft.  At the bottom of the screen is the
instrument panel displaying speed, the letters collected and two
radar scanners which scan both horizontal and vertical fields. 
When picking up the letters, lock them into the centre of the
cross-hairs and fly forwards. One gripe is the lenght of time it
takes for the letter to travel towards you, although it can be
appreciated that the letter has to be redrawn continuously as it
gets larger.   _Starion_ can be viewed either as a light
educational adventure in time or purely as an arcade game.
Whatever view, it's well worth buying if only for the pleasure
of turning history upside down.

                              Clare Edgeley

Publisher: Melbourne House
Price: 7.95
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair
Rating: **** (out of 5, meaning: Value for money)


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