The Apple II version of Argonaut Software‘s classic cockpit shooter, Starglider, was ported by Solid Image, the same developer who made the flawed C64 version. And – unsurprisingly – it retains all the flaws of the C64 version, and brings a few problems of its own to the party, just for good measure…

The biggest problem with this version is that the AGAV craft’s energy levels fall so quickly – which was also the case in the C64 version, but in this version it seems much worse. From full energy to no energy in less than a minute or two… And if you run out of energy, it’s game over. So the game barely gives you a chance to play! I honestly don’t know what the developers were thinking… Is this a bug? Or is something else causing energy levels to drop so quickly? It completely ruins the game, though.

Not that Starglider on the Apple II is a game worth playing anyway. The wireframe graphics are distorted and ugly; the control system is messed-up; the frame rate is very low (at best: three or four frames a second; at worst: less than a frame a second); trying to hit something with a missile seems practically impossible; the radar display in the centre of the cockpit is confusing and makes no sense, and even the compass at the top of the screen doesn’t seem to work properly.

In short: Starglider on the Apple II is a mess, and blame for that lies squarely with the developer, because they did such a poor job of porting it. I’m certain that Starglider on the Apple II could have been much better, in the right hands.

Apple II Starglider was published by Rainbird in the UK in 1986, and by Firebird Licensees, Inc. in North America in 1987.

More: Starglider on Wikipedia