Your civilization is in peril: their sun has been dying out, so they set out to search for a new home. Boarding CosmoStation Noah, the civilization thought they were safe & had hopes for a good future: they were wrong. Upon reaching Spiral Galaxy IX, the CosmoStation Noah becomes encompassed by Molok Wardrivers. These warmongers have no reason for their destructive, disrespectful habits of annihilating anything they come across. The CosmoStation has little hopes of surviving. The designers of the Noah had good minds to bring the RH 119. This is the most advanced vehicle ever designed, ever! However, few have ever trained to work with its biocomputer, Adam. After extensive research & training, you were picked among all the rest. Now you are off while CosmoStation Noah watches, & hopes.
This is the story to Star Voyager, a 1986, 1987 game by ASCII & Acclaim. This is one of those games that practically REQUIRES the instruction manual. At the time of my review, there didn't seem to be a scanned booklet of Star Voyager. So before you decide to purchase this, make sure you have access to the booklet. Graphics: 4
The objects & scenery are pretty dull, even for 1986 standards, but the fact that everything is clear enough to notice is helpful. The great thing about the map is that the player has the abilities to pinpoint the Moloks, each planet, stations, black holes, & the asteroid field. The screen even includes a radar to see if any enemies are ahead or behind, along with a gyro compass to warp to specific areas on the star map. Along with those, there is a message screen to announce anything that may be going on at the moment.
Sound: 6
Music? None, except for the intro & the ending.
The SFX are OK for its time. Of course that's inaccurate since there's no sounds in space, oh well, doesn't matter. If the screen doesn't tell what's going on, then the sounds that go on will. It's just another helpful tool in achieving your goal. Gameplay: 8
Star Voyager is comparable to Star Wars: The biocomputer screen, warping, the blueprints of the RH 119, the Moloks even look like TIE Fighters!
Fighting Molok Wardrivers is pretty frustrating at first, but is rewarding once you know what to do. You will notice that your equipment can get damaged, debilitating your fighting capacity. This can happen often, so you must think ahead & have an escape route to some space station. This is an excellent attribute that makes Star Voyager realistic. The point is to look for the Enemy Mother Ship & attack it, there is one in every wave of enemies. After it's destroyed, no more enemy ships will appear.
It's quite difficult to fight with the equipment you start with, so while cruising through the galaxy you must go to certain planets & look for special equipment that there might be, like Super Lasers.
Overall: 7
Replay Value: Moderate
Once you have been everywhere in Galaxy IX & have beaten the game, you probably won't want to cruise anymore. Star Voyager isn't quite bad for an adventure: it includes skilled gameplay & even an ending, something that lots of games fail at. Star Voyager will be a great addition for those who collect NES games. Don't let the ratings fool you, the best way to judge something is to experience it for yourself. The first thing you need to know is how to board the CosmoStation, incase the Defense Barrier, Laser Cannons, Radar, or Life Support Systems get damaged. The CosmoStation will be in the upper left side of the Star Map. Once there, face the CosmoStation. Use "B" to accelerate. The longer "B" is held, the faster the ship will fly. Slow down when near, the sound of the engine should be heard. You can also board other stations to refuel & fix the radar, but only those.
To Warp: Select a point on the Star Map, hold down "B" until the # of dots on the Speed Meter is ONE AWAY FROM THE TOP, wait until the # of dots on the warp meter matches the # on the Warp Distance. Immediately hold "B" again. Now comes the hard part, if you are warping farther than one point, use the controller to "steady" the Gyro Compass.
To Activate Barrier Shields: Press "A" on the Information Screen.
Monolith: If you see a strange looking monolith floating past you, tell me: james_calderon@hotmail.com I haven't seen one before. |
