A 3D game where you take the part of Luke Clearthinker and re-enact the battle of the Jedi, taking on the entire rebel fleet on your own. This task is made easier as you have at your disposal an up-to-date star fighter.

Jon: The graphics in this game are jumpy, and the colours don't contrast well. It's interesting enough to start with, but soon becomes boring because there's too much on-screen. 5/10.

Simon: Colour is used fairly well, but the graphics are wobbly and don't really resemble what they're supposed to. And come to that, the idea is fairly unoriginal and uninteresting. 6/10.

Ian: The game is colourful, with good 3D effects when you encounter a meteor storm. But the idea is far from original, and there's not much variation — which makes things rather tedious. 5/10.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

Memory: 48K
Price: £5

Add-On Electronics 3D Star Wars might even win a prize as the worst piece of software on the market. The least of the criticisms cover the instructions which are far too long and, perhaps for copyright reasons, give a different plot on the cassette insert and the game. For instance, on the cassette insert the hero is called Luke Clearthinker but in the game the hero has obviously changed his name by deed-poll to Luke Skywalker.

The real criticisms focus on the game. There are too many keys with which to control your ship and, if you try to remember where each one is, you could easily forget which button you have to press to fire your lasers. With a little experimentation we managed to find the key just before we were eventually destroyed with a score of zero.

The graphics are lifeless and produce one of the poorest versions of 3D we have seen. Because of the mess of graphics darting in all directions on the screen, which are supposed to be rebel ships, it is difficult to tell in which direction you are moving even if you have your finger on a particular movement key.

The screen looks more like a patchwork of coloured blobs than a spacescape. If you buy the game, may the force be with you. You will need it.

WELL-WORN THEMES RE-APPEAR

The trend in software production appears to be to take stock, build on successful ideas and await new developments. New games tend to be new variations on well-worn themes rather than startlingly original concepts. The number of games based on the premise that all computer owners love shooting as many things as possible is decreasing and giving way to games which need thought and strategy as well as fast reactions.

Unfortunately for ZX-81 owners, although their computer has remained consistently among the top five bestselling computers, new software for the ZX-81 is almost non-existent and W H Smith is not intending to accept any new ZX-81 software for sale in its shops. Due to the shortage of new software, no ZX-81 programs have been received for review this month.

3D Star Wars - Addon Electronics, 48K Spectrum - is one of the less worthwhile pieces of software on the market. The graphics are lifeless and confusing, the three-dimensional effect is jumbled, and the number of keys to be used complicates the game still further.