Poor visuals and repetitive gameplay make this one to avoid
An unusual release from a company known for cinematic adventures like Rocket Ranger and It Came From the Desert, S.D.I. is an action adventure set during an alternate-future version of the Cold War and which uses the controversial real-life Strategic Defense Initiative (a space-based weapons system) as the driver of its story. Players take the role of the commander of the S.D.I. and, after Russian revolutionaries gain control of ICBMs, must use its awesome power to engage and destroy the missiles and enemy fighters before they can reach the US. You must also repair your satellites and, in a final, bizarre twist, rescue your girlfriend from the clutches of the revolutionaries. While the game showed some potential, with distinctly different game styles, it really isn't worth more than a cursory examination. The control system is awful, the grainy graphics render it hard to ever see what is going on and the enemy AI is punishingly difficult. While the story is slightly more compelling, thanks to its cheesy mix of soap opera and 1960s spy movies, it really isn't enough to save the game from being an all-round disaster that is best avoided by everyone except die-hard nostalgia buffs.
