Starscape

Starscape Is a truly exquisite example of substance over looks. A space-based blaster with a difference, it boasts hours of immersive gameplay that'll make you forget the ropey visuals. After your space station is accidentally transported into a hostile alien dimension, it's up to you to take the sole remaining fighter craft, mine resources out of asteroids and defend your station's last few survivors from marauding and ever-more numerous enemy craft, as you attempt to rebuild and get back home.

But it's not all about button hammering action, as there's also a strategic element It's up to you to repair and upgrade the space station - turrets, engines and missiles are just three of the technologies on offer - and construct backup fighters should those pesky alien swines ever get the better of you.

With its novel strategic elements and greal blasting'sections - that are made all the more challenging and entertaining by some vaguely Newtonian physics - Starscape is definitely worth a look.

It's One Thing to remake a classic game, quite another to reinvent it. Starscape, taking inspiration from the 1979 coin-op classic Asteroids, tries to do just that and the end result offers significantly more than a new lick of paint.

Rather than a single wraparound screen, Starscape features dozens of scrolling maps linked by jump nodes. Your mission is to fly to a node, shoot the 'raids and suck up the crystals left floating behind, before taking the minerals back to the mothership. The more minerals you collect, the more equipment you can build to upgrade your ship. While the resource management is a well executed bolt-on, the 2D combat is the mainstay of the game and as new ships and weapons are 'researched', the game gets increasingly frenzied. Add in an enjoyably camp and stylish storyline and the resultant remix is addictive and thoroughly fresh.