<!--
	Title: (REVIEWS) Starcross
	Author: Ken Sheldon
	Source: 80 Micro, v4(7)
	Date: July 1983
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

<img style="display: block; margin: auto;" src="/public/img/articles/80micro-starcross-review/starcross-sketch.png" alt="Starcross, 4 stars, review by Ken Sheldon">

<p class="article-dropcap">It is the year 2186. You are aboard the mining vessel Starcross, in search of
rare black holes you hope to harness to provide energy for civilization and cash
for you. You are the captain and sole voyager on the Starcross, with the exception
of your ship's computer.</p>


Suddenly, the mass-detector alarm goes off, alerting you to a nearby mass.
This could be your big break. On the other hand, it could be the beginning of
a wild goose chase, the likes of which are enough to make you swear off
black-hole mining forever. It depends on how well you play the game.

The game is Starcross, Infocom's first science-fiction adventure game. It
comes in an innovative flying saucer-shaped package that includes a map of
the galaxy and necessary directions. Like Infocom's other games, Zork I
and II, Starcross requires a TRS-80 Model I and III with 32K of RAM and a
disk drive. It is designed to let you respond with complete sentences, rather
than just one- or two-word commands. Starcross has an impressive vocabulary,
even though it occasionally tells you that it doesn't understand a certain
word, even when it has just used the word itself.

As you begin your adventure, you receive assistance from your on-board
computer, an obstreperous piece of machinery that insults you if you act
against its advice, ignores you if it feels like it, and corrects your language when
you curse it.

You must address the computer directly by saying, for example, "Computer,
what is our status?" or "Computer, set course for Mars," and so on.
This becomes tedious after a while.

Navigating the M.C.S. Starcross is tricky at first; a special notice has been
added to the package to explain it more fully.

Once you arrive at the mysterious mass, the real fun—and frustration—begins.
The mass, you discover, is not a black hole after all, but a huge space
vessel containing several small worlds and a variety of bizarre alien creatures.
They include an enormous, talking spider (that is as boring as he is large),
an alien chieftain (with an eye for your spacesuit), and a giant slithering grue
(*Grue Vulgaris*) that kills you if you accidentally stumble into its lair.

Upon entering the vessel—and this takes a little time—you discover that the
ship and its inhabitants are in some kind of trouble. You must figure out what is
wrong and correct the problems before it's too late.

As you play, the game records your moves and gives you points for making
the right ones. When you leave the game or get killed, it ranks you based on
how well you performed. Rest assured, you will be a Space Cadet for a long
time before you complete the game.

There are a few things to remember while playing Starcross. You should
learn how to use the commands that let you save and restore a game position so
that you won't have to start from scratch every time a move gets you
killed or leads you to a dead end.

Although Starcross is loaded with descriptive detail purely for literary value,
many of the material objects presented have some significance to the game. If
anything is presented that you can pick up and take with you, take it—just in case.

Since all the action in the game takes place aboard spaceships, your movement
is denoted by Fore, Aft, Port, and Starboard commands. This takes some
getting used to.

The package states that the game takes about 35-40 hours to complete,
and you will undoubtedly pull out your disk in disgust many times before you
reach the end. But, this game is a masterpiece of sophisticated programming,
with enough challenge, variation, and adventure to keep you coming back for
a long time.
