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EDWARD is en Environmental Defence WARDen, a super computer who happens to be in control of a new prototype warship, codename Arachnid. Unfortunately, a massive solar flare damaged him beyond repair, and Mission Control lost all contact . . .

EDWARD still thinks he is in Red Alert mode -- stupid computer. Now, anything that comes within range is automatically obliterated. And in twenty four hours the Arachnid will be passing by the planet Venus . . . Oh dear, oh dear.

The ultimate objective of the game is to disable the warship, and thus prevent EDWARD from destroying Venus, by using your skill and judgement, and information extracted from your briefing.

The Arachnid, on which EDWARD is based, is the first unmanned warship in its class. It is very heavily armed and swarming with droids, all awaiting to engage you in combat. Fortunately, you are armed with a nifty laser cannon and 255 units of energy.

Firing the cannon depletes your energy supply, but it can be replenished by successfully com-pleting a Frogger type sub-game, accessible from one of the many computer terminals scattered around the ship. Unfortunately, there are only six energy packs on each level.

The on-screen display shows a side view of two decks on which you car move around and blast away to your heart's content. Doors and vertical conveyor belts link the decks, and these must be used to move between floors. Transporters are thoughtfully provided so that you can move to dif-ferent areas of the ship.

Each level can only be shut by entering the correct five bit code into one of the computer terminals. However, to do this you must first dispose of all the droids on that level -- not an easy task.

This is a loose cross between Paradroid and Impossible Mission, but unfortunately it hasn't got the playability of either. There are plenty of good ideas within the game, but on the whole the game is a dull one which gets boring after a couple of plays. The graphics aren't too bad and the title screen is pretty good, but the sound is virtually non-existent. It's a shame that the game is so dull; it has some nice ideas which unfortunately haven't been expanded upon. As it stands I can't really recommend it.

Presentation 78%
Adequate instructions, nice title screen and in-game presentation.

Graphics 49%
Big, but not very detailed sprites, and simple backdrops.

Sound 21%
Very few spot FX.

Hookability 55%
Simple to get into, but lacking immediate action.

Lastability 44%
Slow and repetitive, but quite playable.

Value For Money 45%
An average game which is well packaged.

Overall 46%
A simple cross between Paradroid and Impossible Mission.