Laser Squad

Cover

Screenshot

Title:	Laser Squad
Company:	Target Games
Type:	Strategy
Year:	1989
No of Players:	1 or 2
Language:	English

Plot

The Assassins: Your mission is to assissinate, Sterner Regnix, the boss of a weapons manufacturer who is using illegal methods to get the best out of his workers. You will lead a small squad of troops and infiltrate Regnix's hideout and eliminate him by any means. All the while dealing with Regnix's Droid squad that patrol the hideout.

Moon Base Assault: A small squad must penetrate the Omni Corporation moon base, via the airlocks, and destroy a great number of their databanks and analysers that hold sensitive information on billions of the population in the galaxy.

Rescue From The Mines: After a routine mission goes badly wrong, three members of the rebel squad are held prisoner in the Metallix Corp mines. A squad of troops must negotiate the mine complex, free all three prisoners and escape.

The Cyber Hordes: A small squad must defend a rebel station from the attack of an advancing droid squad invasion. The rebel base holds seven stabiliser cores vital to the planet's stability and the droids have focused their efforts on these targets.

Paradise Valley: Following on from The Cyber Hordes, the destruction of the stabiliser cores has left the colony in ruins and assault ships hover above waiting for the time of attack. To prevent capture of the rebel blueprints for their advanced starfighter the data has been transferred onto a portable security device and a squad is given the task of escaping from the colony with the data securely in their posession.

The Stardrive: A group of mercenaries have captured the Stardrive controller for a new Rebel fighter. A rebel squad must go to their hidden base and retrieve the device.

Laser Platoon: A free-for-all deathmatch as equal teams are pitted against each other with ten man squads, with reinforcements arriving frequently. The mission is to explore the symmetrical map and hunt down the equally equipped opposition.

Overview

Laser Squad is a science fiction tactical wargame that is played in a series of game turns. Players take turns to control their individual units (humans, droids or aliens). For each turn, units are given a limited number of action points, which can be used for performing functions such as moving, equipping weapons, firing, opening doors/locks, etc. Once all action points are used, the 'End Turn' option can be selected and the computer (or human player two) takes over for their turn. The eventual winner of a mission is the first side to reach 100 victory points.

Reaction

The response from the games industry was very positive with Amstrad Action giving the game their Mastergame award with an overall rating of 91%. Expansion Pack 2, featuring "The Stardrive" and "Laser Platoon" received an even higher rating of 93% when it became available for review; with reviewer Adam Waring stating that this was "two excellent additions to a game that was already excellent."

ACU:	Issue 01 (Apr '90)	Page 43	no mark
AA:	Issue 49 (Oct '89)	Page 50-51	91%

By the Same Author

• Rebelstar (1986)
• Lords of Chaos (1990)

Resources

• Instruction manual (pdf)
• Webb, Trenton. Amstrad Action, issue 49, October 1989, p 50,51
• Waring, Adam. Amstrad Action, issue 56, May 1990, p 52