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This is a game for the red blooded macho man who catches bullets in his teeth and eats three shredded wheat for breakfast. Armed only with an M60 machine gun and six hand grenades, you must make your way far behind enemy lines, annihilate the enemy troops and destroy their fortress.

Commando is a clone of the arcade hit of the same name, and it's not a bad effort. Using joystick or keyboard you can move the soldier in any of eight directions and your bullets are always fired in the direction in which you last travelled.

Hand grenades differ from bullets in that they are always thrown up the screen irrespective of which direction you are travelling. The action begins in a desert which is sparsely covered with trees and sand dunes. As soon as you appear you must start running forward while spraying bullets at anything which moves.

There's no chance of hitting any of your own troops as there are none - this is a suicide mission for which you drew the short straw. Having survived the desert you encounter your first obstacle, for your foes are guarding a road bridge under which you must travel. Not only must you beware of soldiers coming under the bridge towards you but you must also avoid the hand grenades thrown by the motorcyclist who rides to and fro across it.

Following another stretch of desert you arrive at a high wall with a huge gateway. As you approach the wall the gate opens and tens of troops rush out. These must all be killed before you are allowed to pass through the gate.

The next expanse of desert is riddled with trenches from which little men pop up and shoot at you. The game seems endless as you complete screen after screen of hectic action.

Commando provides the same kind of excitement I felt when I first played Elite many moons ago, and I shall go back to it time and time again.

Jon Revis