Alphaprobe is a new game from Artic to add to the already impressive range of software marketed by that company. It is an interactive game in real time in which, as Commander of the NSS Alphaprobe, your mission is to explore strange new planets.

You are transported by the mothership into alien skies and dropped toward the planet surface. The object of the game is to guide your descending ship and land safely on the planet, to reach fuel dumps and replenish supplies, and to launch pads to be taken to new planets. The game ends if you run out of fuel or crash and you are awarded a score at the end of each game.

There are five grades of difficulty - at the hardest level you also have to contend with dangerous spores in the skies about the planets and, as a different planet surface is generated for each game, the game is different every time.

However, Alphaprobe is not a particularly inspired game. It runs well and should be fairly readily mastered - but do keep an eye on the fuel level. I also thought that the screen displays were somewhat primitive for a game of this sort.