Well, well I've always dreamed of owning a zippy spacecraft with awesome weaponry and a good line in forward, backward, upwards and downwards movement, so slap me with a soggy Marmite sandwich if this game doesn't fit the bill.

A classic arcade format space shoot 'em up, Game Over II involves a rescue mission in deep space with ten levels of frantic action taking place above, on and below ground. The variety of gameplay is impressive for a budget game. The main Character, known as Commander Locke gets to ride a strange beast (no, not the Garthmobile) and fly around using a spacecraft and jetpack without fear for his own safety or for parking tickets.

To cut a long story short, (well relatively so) you must reach a prison planet against all the odds, flying over it's volcanic danger zones before landing and then capture and use an 'Adrec' (a strange cross between a kangaroo, a horse and a sad Australian TV presenter) to get you through the swamp. (Can you tell what it is yet kids?). Other levels include an underground forest, a subterranean lake and finally, the fiendishly well-guarded prison itself which all make Game Over II quite a difficult blast that demands lightning-quick reactions, lots of practice and a strip of Elastoplast for those finger blisters.

Unfortunately I couldn't get a Sinclair joystick to work with it but keyboard control is good. There are 24 different enemies to contend with, some are easy enough, almost suicidal, but others are dangerous beyond belief, especially the ones that creep (or fly at lightning speed) at you from behind.

With large clear graphics and plenty of colour, Game Over II contains more than enough speed and good fightin' action to keep most combat-crazy space veterans blister-fingered and well plastered right to the end.

Label: Alternative Memory: 48K Price: £3.99 Tape Reviewer: Big Al Dykes

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