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Game #2730
Hall of Belated Fame Inductee  Starquake    View all Top Dogs in this genreCollection: WISE Games
Action   Vertical shooter

Rating: 8.83 (72 votes)

Starquake box cover

Starquake screenshot
One of the most innovative side-scrolling shooters ever made, Starquake was a big hit on the Commodore 64 and Atari ST but sadly not on the PC. The plot is very cliché, but it’s the cool action/adventure blend of gameplay that counts. You are a thing called BLOB (Bio-Logically Operated Being), chosen to save a planet from destruction. You must find parts of the planet's core which are scattered all through the planet and fix it before it explodes. Many aliens who inhabit the planet will harass you and 'zappers', broken bottles and spikes can all to blow you to pieces.

Although it looks similar to countless other shooters, Starquake has many innovations that set it apart. For starters, you are free to go wherever you want on the planet in your search for the missing pieces of the core. You can either explore on foot, or on a hovercraft. To move upward without the hovercraft, you can create your own platforms which last for a short period of time. To make exploration easier, there are a great number of hovercraft pads and fifteen teleporters, each with different codes, scattered strategically around the 512 screens. Finding these codes adds an interesting element of adventuring, not unlike Access’ Echelon. Another nod to the adventure genre is the availability of an inventory: you can carry up to four items at a time. There are also features such as security doors, which require the security card or matching numbered cards, doors which require keys, and special 'breakaway platforms'. Another interesting feature is the Cheops Pyramid, which lets you exchange a piece for the one that you think is more useful.

Gameplay is a lot of fun, and very easy to learn. Although the graphics are only four-color CGA in this PC version, the animations are very smooth, and the controls intuitive. The game is also highly replayable: both the identities and locations of pieces you need to rebuild the planet’s core are randomized, so the game never gets monotonous. If you enjoy shooters with a difference, Starquake more than fits the bill. Two thumbs up for this underdog!

Reviewed by: Underdogs
Designer: Stephen Crow
Developer: Bubble Bus
Publisher: ShareData
Year: 1988
Software Copyright: Bubble Bus
Theme: Science Fiction, Unique, Epic
Multiplayer:  
None that we know of
System Requirements: DOS
Where to get it:
Related Links: The Starquake Remake Site (archived)
Links:    
If you like this game, try: Echelon, Spiderbot, Impossible Mission 2

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