Solar Winds: The Escape

The Good
Good graphics, good plot, keeps you on your toes with the action and the edge of your seat with the plot. The gameplay is very good, and so are the graphics, considering what time period it was writen in, and the OS it is intended for both the compatibility with modern windows systems and the graphics are really exceptional.

The Bad
With out the cheat code the game is very slow due to lots of interplanetary travel, and even with the code you can only play so many times before you wish there was a time lapse feature. Also joystick control is hard at first because of the top-down perspective.

The Bottom Line
Lots of fun for the avid Sci-fi nut or gamer, especially the ones that like retro.

The Good
The graphics of Solar Winds: The Escape are good for the time in which it was released, and music and sounds aren't that bad either. The plot is entertaining, although dialogs could have been worked a little. The combat, while simple, is fun. AI is decent, enemies will dodge your lasers and missiles and try and set themselves up into a better position from which to attack you. Multiple targets may become difficult, but it's relatively easy to escape, as it seems your ship is always faster then theirs and they also don't give much pursuit.

The Bad
The only thing that disappointed me was how short the game was. You can easily finish this game in one hour. But the real problem is that in order to make the game seem longer, the makers made destinations very far in between. Even once you manage to get the hyper drive engine, there are long uneventful intervals in which you can make several trips to the fridge and be back with plenty of time to spare.

The Bottom Line
A good way to describe SW: The Escape is comparing it to LucasArts Star Wars/Indy desktop adventures. Short, yet fun. The length is no longer an issue if you manage to get both this and the sequel (SW: Galaxy) which continues the game's story. I highly recommend looking for both of them and not just one.