In true Star Trek tradition, this program puts you in the pilot's seat of a super galactic spaceship.

Thankfully the handbook is one of the best I have seen for this sort of simulation; the complexities involved in flying this craft, your Interdictor Mk III, are considerable.

The time it takes to assimilate the 48 pages of information, depends on your learning ability.

Starting with a dummy run, using the slow motion option, and given enough practice, you may get to fly a successful mission, and achieve a perfect docking with the Starbase.

On the' other hand, it may be just too complicated for you, unless you are determined to see some return for your considerable investment.

Superb graphics and sound add enormously to the reality of the project. The panoramic view through the cockpit window is realistic, with good 3-D implementation as the alien craft zoom towards you.

You can use 40 of the keys and the joystick to control the Interdictor, though thankfully, not all at the same time.

Here lies my one criticism: some of the keys are only effective under certain operating conditions. Although these parameters are all covered adequately in the handbook, it took a lot of effort to commit them to memory.

With this number of input channels, a keyboard overlay would make the learning process much less arduous.

Fastidious attention to detail in this well written program will provide aeons of entertainment for armchair astronauts.

D.H.