Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge

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 and MobyGames description:

"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. Space Ace II: Borf's Revenge continues the saga of young cadet Dexter, who tries to free his love Kimberly from the clutches of the evil nemesis Borf. In critical situations, the meek Dexter can transform into his mighty alter ego Space Ace. Thus empowered, he has to defeat Borf's minions.

Space Ace II is a essentially a cartoon strip in which our hero will encounter numerous hazards. You have to avoid traps and enemies by pressing the right key at the right time: cursor keys for movements, Insert key to shoot. You never control Dexter directly, you just choose an appropriate direction. Each of the 27 seconds-long scenes requires one to three keystrokes. If your decision is wrong, the cartoon will end with a death animation, and Dexter will lose one of his three lives. So you're basically trying to keep the strip running. Timing is crucial; you will need to press keys in the exact second. Luckily, you're allowed to save your progress at four fixed points."

Review By HOTUD