ULTIMATE GUIDE REBELSTAR

THE SECOND GAME IN THE REBELSTAR SERIES CATAPULTED THE ACTION STRATEGY GENRE INTO THE HOMES OF SPECTRUM OWNERS AND KICK-STARTED THE CAREER OF ITS AUTHOR, JULIAN GOLLOP. SO GET THAT PHOTON RIFLE READY THE CYBER HORDES AWAIT YOU...

- GRAEME MASON

While budget games were a massive boon for cash-strapped kids in the Eighties, you never quite knew what you were getting for your  £1.99. There were a dozen ramshackle efforts for every little gem, rushed out to earn a quick buck, quantity over quality. Value for money was a huge variable, but for anyone that invested two pounds into Rebelstar, there could have been very few worries over whether players were getting their money’s worth.

Created by Julian Gollop and released by Firebird Software in the autumn of 1986, Rebelstar is a futuristic turn-based strategy game set on the Earth’s only natural satellite. The player controls the Raiders, a band of soldiers sent to assault Moonbase Delta and destroy its central computer, named Isaac. In the one-player game, Isaac is guarded by a company of elite droids, varying in strength and agility. After selecting your difficulty setting (which influences the number of droids and your squad), the player’s soldiers are dumped onto the moonscape outside the base. Accompanying the humans are tough combat droids, and they use their powerful blast torches to break through the airlocks and into the base.

Once inside, the alerted enemy forces will converge on the intruders. Each Raider comes armed with a weapon and other miscellaneous items, including media probes (for healing injured teammates), ammunition packs and light sabres. The entire base and all its defenders are visible to the Raiders, who advance using cover to protect themselves from the droids. The target, Isaac, is in the top middle of the map, but beware: a direct assault is not recommended, given the long corridor that leads to the computer.