AGH Atari 8-Bit Computer Review: STAR WARS: THE ARCADE GAME by Parker Brothers In converting Star Wars: The Arcade Game for the home, Parker Brothers had a tall order. After all, it had to try and please the very picky Star Wars aficionados, along with those who adored Atari's color vector smash hit. Furthermore, the original version was a technical marvel which was bound to lose a lot in the port-over. Remarkably, this cartridge has the look of the arcade original, even without those spectacular vector graphics. Seems like they got the hardest part out of the way, right? Well, yes, but there are some tradeoffs. Instead of pointing your guns where you want to shoot, you move a cursor around the screen and the shots go to that location. The guns themselves never move. Since the stars in the sky don't move in relation to the way you move the joystick, you don't get a sensse that you are controlling the ship's direction at all. And for some reason, the stars are still there during the tower sequence. The trench sequence is pretty faithful to the original, and is the only real challenging part of the game. The insipring Star Wars theme music has been preserved, but the "red boxes" segment has been left out as well as the voice synthesis. It's a remarkable attempt at an almost impossible task, but the play action leaves a lot to be desired. Judging on its own merits, it's a pretty decent first-person shooter. But it won't stop you from craving to play the real thing. Title Star Wars: The Arcade Game Publisher Parker Brothers System Atari 400/800/XL/XE Graphics 8 Sound 7 Gameplay 5 Overall 6 Reviewer Keita Iida