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Ain't it always the same? Every time you go to load up a new game there's someone looking over your shoulder. This time, he said to me wistfully, "You know what I'd really like to see is a souped-up version of Galaxians." I'd only been playing Xcel for a matter of moments when he started jumping up'n'down yelling, "That's it, that's it!"

But first the story so far - it seems that the Sentinels have muscled in on our galaxy and it's your job to muscle 'em back out again by destroying their thirty or so planets.

The game initially looks like an Elite clone. There you are orbiting a planet with the option of choosing your next destination. But pressing the fire button sends you off into a Xaivor-type game - just dodge the obstacles and shoot the aliens. Okay, I suppose, but it's a bit slow though never fear it's just for openers.
Next comes the bit when my mate had to be sedated. And for once the programmer's taken trouble over movements and formations. He's taken his cue from all those old westerns - the aliens form up into a circle. Tricky!
The graphics didn't quite live up to their original promise but you won't have time to take in the scenery as you're locked into a life-and-death shoot'em up! A treat for arcade addicts.

Steve
OVERALL: 8

FEW REMEMBER mankind's great achievement, a series of 30 planets constructed to protect their creators. They are called Sentinels and keep the balance of power in the galaxy.

Those planets have grown into conscious entities and have acquired a taste for power. Mankind has become too dependent on them and they must be destroyed.

First you must locate one on your sector map and then warp through hyperspace to go into orbit around it. The planet beneath the ship is shown in 3D at the centre of the main display. It rotates in a downward direction in relation to your ship.

Once you have arrived you can launch a shuttle which descends to the planet surface, ready to take on the alien fauna. You must shoot everything except the trees.

The alien hunt on the planet is the weakest part of the game. In the first phase a downward scrolling movement is used to bring the aliens onto the screen. They are sitting targets.

XCEL depends heavily on graphics and not much else. The game is yet another version of Star Trek, Space Invaders and Centipede rolled into one. If you like turbo-charged graphics and hybrid plots the game will appeal to you. If, however, you are a battle-hardened hack you will find better shoot 'em ups on the market. Try Glass for one!

John Gilbert
Publisher Activision Price £7.95
Memory 48K Joystick Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
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