DESCRIPTION

Starcash was looking for the perfect headliner for his Space Circus. After all, the usual robots were fine at first, but the business couldn't afford to simply pull out act after act without any surprises. Starshot was going to be his ticket out of bankruptcy, the attraction that no one would be able to resist.

You see, Starshot was originally supposed to be a weapon trained to follow orders and attack without question. That's what Killer Expo did. The planet raised robots as loyal soldiers to fight whatever was deemed a threat to the status quo. Yet something was wrong with Starshot — he contracted a virus that made him useless to the military; he developed something called a conscience.

What was Killer Expo's loss was now Starcash's gain. Starshot would display his skills for all the world to see along with his two little friends named Willfall and Willfly. Starcash hoped people would stop paying to see the modern and cruel Virtua Circus led by Wolfgang Von Ravel. It seems the boss has been stealing such landmarks as the Milky Way, Big Dipper, and the rings of Saturn, without any regard for the preservation of space. To add insult to injury, the man was charging admission for it!

After hearing about this, Starshot agreed to embark on a mission to wipe out the Virtua Circus and stop Wolfgang Von Ravel's dastardly plan to steal the galaxy to use as his main attraction. To succeed, the robot will have to travel to seven planets, meeting over 300 different characters, until his final confrontation with Von Ravel himself. The planets include tropical Tensuns, the jungle-like Primitron, militaristic Killer Expo, mechanical Technomum, junkyard Ultimacrash, the ruins of Earth, and the evil Virtua Circus.

Starshot: Space Circus Fever is a 3D platform game that has players running, jumping, swimming and shooting their way through futuristic environments. While journeying across the galaxy, players will have to complete various goals with the help of a map. Each level begins from the control room of the Space Circus starship, where you'll be able to select from seven different options (represented by characters) before beginning each level. Your robot friends will inform you on each planet, brief you on the mission at hand, or offer a hint where to find coveted Mega Fuel points.

These Mega Fuel points are important to find, since Starshot must gather 100 if the Space Circus is to return safely to Earth. Other collectibles include green Life Points, blue Stars (each star represents two shots), yellow Flight Time Capsules that give Starshot two seconds worth of — you guessed it — flight time.

Starshot: Space Circus Fever also offers a number of options to customize play. The game supports two video settings (either the standard 4:3 ratio or a letterboxed 16:9 format), three languages (English, French or German) and adjustable controller functions. Up to four games can be saved directly to the cartridge without the use of a Controller Pak accessory. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide