S. E. U. I. S. Review
Developed by Strategic Simulations
(Part of the RapidFire line)
Review By Chris Smith
The Space Gamer #59 (January 1983)
Designed by John Lyon
Twenty-seven page rulebook and disk.
May be saved.
Paddles required.
I've saved this game for the last, but not because it's the best. S.E. U. I. S., pronounced "soos" and standing for "Shoot 'Em Up In Space," is the worst of a good set of games. In another line it would probably stand out, but in the distinguished company of RapidFire's other titles, it leaves something to be desired. Its basic premise - combining a strategic space game with arcade ship-to-ship combat is a good one, but it just doesn't live up to expectations.
Players start the game with a fleet which must be broken into squadrons and directed around the star map in an attempt to capture and hold onto resource centers. When enemy squadrons meet, time shifts to the tactical level and the game is kicked over to an arcade-style shoot 'em up. The only way to discover the composition', of an enemy squadron (other than its reference as "light," "medium," and "heavy") is to engage it in battle.
The game didn't live up to my expectations because it is just too plain, too ordinary. This was the last of the line to be delivered to TSG for review; when it arrived, I jumped on it. My resulting disappointment lay in the fact that this game, unlike the others in the line, added nothing new to the computer game field. Combining strategic space games with arcade was a good idea, but there are still better arcade games of both kinds.