Space Ace

In early 1990s, Readysoft released a number of animated action games that became instant hits on the Laserdisc platform, although their PC counterparts suffered poor sales in comparison. This is by no means surprising: although these games boast very high production values and excellent animations which are created by Don Bluth Studios, their value as a game is sorely lacking.

These game are little more than PC version of "choose-your-own-adventure" books, in which gameplay is boiled down to choosing an action from multiple choices. PC versions are, naturally, cut-down versions from Laserdisc originals, with many sequences missing altogether. It wasn't until the advent of CD-ROM that Readysoft (now sold to Digital Leisure) started making "deluxe" version of these games and put them on CD-ROM and later DVD. Treat the games as fun and humorous computer cartoons, but don't expect them to be involving games. If you like any of these disk-based versions, check out the deluxe DVD/CD-ROM versions at Digital Leisure's products page. Excerpt from Rob's original review at CW#3:

"PC conversion of Don Bluth's classic Laserdisc arcade game. Space Ace lives from the same premise and problems as the related Dragon's Lair games. It has great graphics and animations for its time but suffers from short and very simplistic gameplay. The plot: The evil commander Borf has kidnapped Ace's girlfriend, the beautiful Kimberley, and is plotting to enslave the Earth using his dreaded "Infanto Ray", a weapon that changes everyone it blasts into a helpless baby. Armed with only a laser gun, Ace must find and destroy the Infanto Ray, rescue Kimberley and save the Earth."

Review By HOTUD