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	Title: (Adventure) Starcross
	Source: Zzap!64, #40
	Date: August 1988
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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**Infocom, £24.99 Disk only**

No longer available from Activision/Infocom/Mediagenic, *Starcross* can still
be picked up at Commodore shows and retail outlets around
the country -- it is well worth hunting down.

The story takes place in the year 2186 -- In a place where no-one
can hear you scream -- and opens with you onboard the deep-space
black-hole prospecting ship, Starcross. You rendezvous not with
Rama but with another gargantuan starship from the outer
fringes of the Galaxy. Once you have successfully docked with the
craft you must gain entry to its mysterious interior. Inside you
find a complex, engaging world and come face to face with aliens
both harmful and helpful. The huge starship has a greater purpose
than mere cultural exchange however -- it conveys a challenge
that only you can meet.

This is a toughie. One of the first Infocom adventures I delved into,
it remains one of my all-time favourites. Response time is slow but
reading the screens of text helps pass the time while disk accessing
takes place.

The first task incorporates the anti-pirate device supplied in the
packaging. The computer wakes you to infom that it has detected
a large mass in the vicinity. Reading the screen gives the co-ordinates
of the mass and referring to them on the map provided with
the package gives the bearing needed for interception. Without
the map there is no game.

The next problem is docking with the mass and entering it. A
number of rods protrude from a likely looking airlock and need to
be manipulated correctly to gain entry. Saving your position is
highly recommended at this juncture as one mistake means
failure.

Inside the hulk there are many weird and wonderful creatures to
interact with, and strange objects to puzzle over. Infocom's usual
attention to detail is omnipresent and most feasible inputs have been
catered for.

*Starcross* will nicely fill that space on your shelf -- intercept it at all
costs.

<table class="larger" style="font-weight: bold;"><tbody>
<tr><td>Atmosphere</td><td>87%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Interaction</td><td>86%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Challenge</td><td>91%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Overall</td><td>88%</td></tr>
</tbody></table>