Star Wars is an all-time arcade classic and l for one have been waiting for some enterprising company to come up with the computer version. Well, it's here in cartridge form from Parker Brothers.

Star Wars: The Arcade Game features three screens from the arcade version. You get the initial space battle with the Empire's fearsome Tie Fighters, the race across the Death Star's surface, blasting the laser defence towers on the way, and finally the hectic dash along the Star's "trench" dodging between deadly fireballs and suspended catwalks to reach the main reactor port. Here you get just once chance to drop your proton torpedo to destroy the Death Star entirely.

I was surprised that the graphics on the C64 version weren't a little better. Parker Brothers have made a good attempt at reproducing the red and blue arcade vector graphics. But it just didn't quite have the feel of the original.

The Tie Fighters in the first screen are quite crudely drawn and you don't seem to get much impression of distance as the fireballs come streaking through space at you. I found it hard to tell just how far away these missiles were at times, which made it difficult to judge when to blast the fireballs or concentrate on the fighters!

Things get better when you swoop down low over the Death Star, shooting up those laser towers. This version doesn't have the satisfying vector graphic explosions of the arcade machine when you hit the towers. And you still have the same trouble judging the distance of those fireballs, which come at you once again.

Your X-Wing Fighter is protected by nine force shields - lose them and the game is over. I found it annoying to lose so many in the first screen because of those irritatingly difficult fireballs and only be left with a couple to deal with the rest of the conflict! But then that's my problem.

I also found it fairly difficult to position my laser sights exactly where I wanted them to be — especially in the fast and furious opening screen. Your laser fire comes from the side mounted cannon on your fighter and converges on the area where your sight is aimed by the way.

I must admit to being a little disappointed with this offering from Parker Brothers, especially after seeing their version of Gyruss (reviewed last issue) which is a real winner. The cartridge comes with a comprehensive manual which details the different game options and points scoring.

Parker Brothers have made a brave attempt to bring all the excitement of the arcade classic to the small screen — and I guess that if you can't have the real thing at home, then you should take a look at this version and make up your own minds. It's one of those games!