[{"TitleName":"Rebelstar 2","Publisher":"Silverbird Software Ltd","Author":"Ian Terry, Julian Gollop","YearOfRelease":"1988","ZxDbId":"0004061","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 64, May 1989","Price":"£1.25","ReleaseDate":"1989-04-27","Editor":"Stuart Wynne","TotalPages":92,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"EDITORIAL\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nEditor: Stuart Wynne\r\nAssistant Editor: Phil King\r\nStaff Writers: Mark Caswell, Lloyd Mangram, Nick Roberts\r\nContributors: Ian Cull, Mike 'Skippy' Dunn, Paul Evans, Robin Hogg, Ian Lacey\r\nEditorial Assistants: Caroline Blake, Vivienne Vickress\r\nEditorial Consultant: Dominic Handy\r\n\r\nPRODUCTION\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nSenior Designer/Illustrator: Wayne Allen\r\nDesigners: Melvin Fisher, Yvonne Priest\r\nPhotography: Cameron Pound, Michael Parkinson\r\nProduction Manager: Jonathan Rignall\r\nReprographics Supervisor: Matthew Uffindell\r\nProduction: Robert Hamilton, Robert Millichamp, Tim Morris, Jenny Reddard\r\n\r\nEditorial Director: Oliver Frey\r\nPublisher: Geoff Grimes\r\nAdvertisement Director: Roger Bennett\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Neil Dyson\r\nSales Executives: Sarah Chapman, Lee Watkins\r\nAssistant: Jackie Morris [redacted]\r\nGroup Productions Executive: Richard Eddy\r\n\r\nMail Order: Carol Kinsey\r\nSubscriptions: Denise Roberts\r\n[redacted]\r\n\r\nTypeset by The Tortoise Shell Press, Ludlow. Colour origination by Scan Studios [redacted]. Printed in England by Carlisle Web Offset, [redacted] - member of the BPCC Group. Distribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOMPETITION RULES\r\nThe Editor's decision is final in all matters relating to adjudication and while we offer prizes in good faith, believing them to be available, if something untoward happens (like a game that has been offered as a prize being scrapped) we reserve the right to substitute prizes of comparable value. We'll do our very best to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the published closing date. Winners names will appear in a later issue of CRASH. No correspondence can be entered into regarding the competitions (unless we've written to you stating that you have won a prize and it doesn't turn up, in which case drop the Sticky Solutions Department a line at the [redacted] address). No person who has any relationship, no matter how remote, to anyone who works for either Newsfield or any of the companies offering prizes, may enter one of our competitions. No material may be reproduced whole or in part without the written consent of the copyright holders. We cannot undertake to return anything sent into CRASH including written and photographic material, software and hardware - unless it is accompanied by a suitably stamped addressed envelope. Unsolicited written or photo material is welcome, and if used in the magazine is paid for at our current rates.\r\n\r\n©CRASH Ltd, 1989\r\n\r\nISSN 0954-8661\r\n\r\nCover Design & Illustration by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"FRONTLINE\r\n\r\nREBEL STAR 2\r\n\r\nProducer: Silverbird Software\r\nAuthor: Target Games (Programming by Julian Gollop with graphics assistance by Ian Terry)\r\nPrice: £1.99\r\n\r\nJulian Gollop may have pinched a few ideas from Aliens for the plot and gameplay of Rebel Star 2 (not to mention Silverbird with their cover), but those of you eagerly awaiting the game can forgive Mr Gollop for any lapse of originality.\r\n\r\nThe planet Thray 6 has been taken over by warring aliens who are getting ready for an attack on Rebelstar itself. The Rebelstar Raiders are dropped down on the planet with orders to destroy as many alien lifeforms as possible.\r\n\r\nAs represented in the game Thray-6 is a rather small planet, but is still a moderately-sized battlefield comprising an alien fortress and swamplands. A small section of the battlefield is always on display, and by moving the cursor around you can scroll across the battlefield at will.\r\n\r\nThe game begins with the Raiders on the western side of the swamp with, not surprisingly, the alien fortress on the other side. The Raiders have 15 turns before their drop ship lands near the fortress, and another 11 to get on board before it takes off again. If any alien eggs can be brought back for research purposes so much the better.\r\n\r\nTo get to the fortress the Raiders have to first cross rivers, swampland and marshes while avoiding the unwelcome attention of marsh rats, indestructible water monsters and aliens on aggressive search-and-destroy patrols. The only good thing about the swamp is that it can provide cover from enemy fire.\r\n\r\nIn true Rebel Star-style the Raiders have a set number of action points to use up each turn through movement, combat and other actions - like picking things up and loading weapons. Needless to say being wounded often results in a massive, and permanent loss of action points per turn. Unfortunately the aliens are quite merciless and very good shots, so keeping under cover is of paramount importance.\r\n\r\nAlthough it is possible to engage in hand-to-hand combat, it's not advisable and most of the time combat involves sidearms. Aimed, snap and opportunity shots are possible and it can all get very exhilarating to see laser bolts flying back and forth, occasionally missing by pixels. So hopefully even arcade fans should enjoy the game.\r\n\r\nThe Raiders are mostly armed with laser rifles, although a few are equipped with highly effective Photon guns. The latter equipped soldiers are the key to success in Rebel Star 2. Without their firepower you'll be lucky to survive until the drop ships lands, let alone get onboard. Actually winning the game rests on getting those alien eggs though, and they're in the alien fortress with an acid-spitting Alien Queen, its vicious babies running amok and plenty of guards. Surviving the waves of alien troops is tense enough, running around the alien fortress will have you sweating blood!\r\n\r\nAlthough the concept behind Rebel Star 2 differs little from the original, the methods of play are different and the game itself offers a respectable level of strategic challenge. With excellent graphics as well it's all highly engrossing. This is a game to appeal not only to strategists, but also fans of the Alien movies and in fact anyone who enjoys a really good - and very tense - game.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"67","Denied":false,"Award":"Crash Smash","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Presentation","Score":"75%","Text":"Packaging is typically budget with very brief instructions. In-game layout is neat with a clean appearance and very user-friendly command system. The resetting of the machine once the game is over is a minor setback, however."},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"83%","Text":"Menacing looking Giger-style aliens, wierd and wonderful swamp flora and fauna, all colourful and highly detailed."},{"Header":"Rules","Score":"64%","Text":"Adequately explained if short, but it's left to the player to unravel the actual mechanics of play through good old trial-and-error."},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"91%","Text":"Far easier to get into than most other strategy games, 1 or 2 player options and 8 skill levels to provide the long term challenge."},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"90%","Text":"A great sequel and a compelling, highly rewarding strategy game in its own right. Not to be missed."}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Sinclair Issue 42, Jun 1989","Price":"£1.6","ReleaseDate":"1989-05-11","Editor":"Matt Bielby","TotalPages":100,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Matt Bielby\r\nArt Editor: Catherine Higgs\r\nDeputy/Production Editor: Jackie 'Do I get paid for two jobs?' Ryan\r\nStaff Writer: Duncan MacDonald\r\nDesigner: Thor Goodall\r\nEditorial Assistant: David Wilson\r\nTechnical Consultant: David McCandless\r\nContributors: Marcus Berkmann, Ciaran Brennan, Lis Clegg, Jonathan Davies, Phoebe Evans, Mike Gerrard, Sean Kelly, Catherine Peters, Peter Shaw, Rachael Smith, Phil South, Ben Stone\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Alison Morton\r\nAdvertisement Executive: Stephen Bloy\r\nAdvertisement Director: Alistair Ramsay\r\nProduction Manager: Judith Middleton\r\nAdvertisement Production: Katherine Balchin\r\nMarketing Manager: Bryan Denyer\r\nCirculation Manager: June Smith\r\nAssociate Producer: Teresa Maughan\r\nPublisher: Terry Grimwood\r\nFinance Director: Colin Crawford\r\nManaging Director: Stephen England\r\nChairman: Felix Dennis\r\n\r\nPublished by Dennis Publishing Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England.\r\nTypesetters: Carlinpoint [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinted By: Riverside Press [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Sinclair ©1989 Felden Productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Sinclair is a monthly publication."},"MainText":"REBELSTAR 2\r\nSilverbird\r\n£1.99\r\nReviewer: Marcus Berkmann\r\n\r\n'Arcade strategy' game that would probably be better off just calling itself a strategy game, 'cos that's what it is. But then strategy is not the big seller it might once have been, so any attempt to liven it up for the wider audience is perhaps to be welcomed. Anyway, this little number supplies you with a number of forces (the Rebelstar Raiders, in case you were wondering) who must fight an armed party of aliens which has established itself on a nearby planet. Not only must you kill as many nasties as you can, but you must also see off their eggs - for, yes, if they hatch, the phrase 'eggy soldiers' will take on an entirely new meaning. So, it all comes down to the traditional strategy features of troops deployment, bloodless battles, and terrain neatly mapped out in a giant grid. You can play against the computer or a friend (the two-player games loads separately), and the whole is quite a laff, if perhaps not as detailed as most full-price strat games. A neat addition to the genre, though.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"43","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Marcus Berkmann","Score":"7","ScoreSuffix":"/10"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Overall","Score":"7/10","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment) Issue 20, May 1989","Price":"£1.5","ReleaseDate":"1989-04-06","Editor":"Graeme Kidd","TotalPages":132,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Future Publishing [redacted]\r\nTelephone [redacted], Fax [redacted], Telecom Gold 84:TXT152\r\n\r\nEditor: Graeme Kidd\r\nReviews Editor: Bob Wade\r\nStaff Writers: Steve Jarratt, Andy Smith\r\nProduction Editor: Damien Noonan\r\nConsultant Editors: Jon Bates (Music), Brian Larkman (Graphics)\r\nAdventure Editor: Steve Cooke\r\nContributors: Tony Takoushi, Zog\r\nArt Editor: Trevor Gilham\r\nAssistant Art Editor: Angela Neale\r\nProduction: Diane Tavener, Claire Woodland, Vivien Dean, Naomi Steer, Louise Cockroft\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Simon Stansfield\r\nAdvertising Sales Executive: David Lilley\r\nPublisher: Kevin Cox\r\n\r\nCover by Steve Dillon\r\n\r\nSUBSCRIPTIONS\r\nAvon Direct Mail [redacted]\r\n\r\nSPECIAL OFFERS\r\n(Christine Stacey) [redacted]\r\n\r\nCOLOUR ORIGINATION\r\nSwift Graphics Ltd, Southampton\r\n\r\nDISTRIBUTION\r\nSM Distribution [redacted]\r\n\r\nPRINTING\r\nChase Web Offset [redacted]\r\n\r\n© FUTURE PUBLISHING LTD 1989\r\n\r\nNo part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without our permission."},"MainText":"Silverbird - Spectrum: £1.99\r\n\r\nTake charge of the Rebelstar Raiders once more in this sequel to the magnificent cult skirmish game Rebelstar.\r\n\r\nAll the old faves are there, this time out to destroy an alien race on the planet Thray 6. Points are awarded for each alien killed, with extra points for the alien queen who's the prime target. Use the available limited movement points well, and keep pushing because there are only 26 game turns in which to achieve the objective and get the Raiders back into the shuttle before it blasts off.\r\n\r\nRebelstar II has everything the first game had: all the addiction, excitement and fun. If you loved the original you can't afford to miss this. And if you missed the first game, you'll find Rebelstar II so playable and enjoyable you'll be waiting on tenterhooks, like the rest of us, for Rebelstar III.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"65","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Ace Rating","Score":"917/1000","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]