You are the pilot (astronaut?) of a lunar module and you must land safely and slowly between crags on the lunar surface. You have three controls - thrust up, left and right. Gravity wil bring you down but you must land very slowly else you will crash into a thousand pieces. The controls are incredibly responsive and the module moves and responds just like the real thing. In fact, this game could be called an engineering simulation - it is so realistic.

All the graphics are drawn on the hi-res screen and they are excellent. The module is nice and large and you get spouting flames when you thrust. The lunar surface covers about four screens, looks marvellous and scrolls when necessary. The animation is very smooth, and fast if you are moving fast.

The object is to land as many times as you can before you run out of fuel. You can land in any of five sites. The hardest scores 800 points and is virtually impossible, being in a tortuous cavern with barely a pixel to spare between success and obliteration against the side walls. The easiest scores 100 points but even that is hard at first. You can also land at a refuelling station to gain more fuel, but this is quite hard as the entrance doors are opening and closing continually. I found the best way is to hover above the doors and wait until they start opening before allowing gravity to pull the module down.

It takes a while to become a skilled pilot but it is enormous fun all the way. Lunar Lander is already a great favourite of mine, and I rate it as one of the best and most original games to emerge for the Colour Genie.

Dave Sullivan