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Equinox does not feature any members of the Wally family. For this at least, some of us are glad.

It is, instead, a collect-and-dodge game of vast proportions. Were games judged on the sheer volume of bouncing and splurging sprites alone the game would be a winner. As it is Equinox contains nothing new. There is much to enjoy but nothing to admire.

The plot is to clear a number of levels of unstable nuclear cannisters, which are liable to blow up. On each level the time left before that level's cannister explodes ticks away at the top of the screen.

Quite apart from the problem of finding the cannister and discovering how to travel from one level to the other, there are bouncing monsters of many species including splogy jelly, a cute penguin, orbs, hair standing on end thing, and the particularly popular 'oh God I can't think of anything else and I was supposed to have this game delivered last week' programmers 'please yourself' abstract shapes.

And, all of them bounce determinedly.

The thought part of the game derives initially from trying to discover what objects when combined together do what. Some of these links are obvious, eg stone blocking passages and sticks of dynamite. Some less so, eg blue spheres and teleport type devices. In the end though, the game is too much of the too familiar.

Label: Mikro-Gen Price: £9.95 Joystick: Kempston Memory: 48K Reviewer: Graham Taylor

*****

Smooth, big sprites, but little originality. Equinox is only for addicts of the collect-and-dodge genre.