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By 3987 AD the whole Galaxy has come under the domination of a mighty Imperium. Solar systems and entire races have fallen under its power, except for one planet - Octapolis. The inhabitants guard their eight cities with the most deadly of all secret weapons - telekinetic power. In the planet's vicinity, perfectly trained pilots become fumbling idiots, and the fastest, most powerful computers blow a fuse.

After centuries of searching, the imperium has finally found a man immunce to the ill-effects generated, and intends to use him to infiltrate the eight complexes.

The mission is split into two sections: the first part is a shoot-'em-up in which a split screen display shows the player's ship from viewpoints both above and to the side. Waves of alien ships attack from either side and are blasted to ensure survival. When a predetermined time limit has elapsed, or twenty aliens are destroyed, a signal sounds and the player is able to land the ship on a runway in the middle of the city, and enters the second section: a sequence of five platform screens.

Each room is populated by flying eyes, which are shot, and a variety of indestructible deadly monsters. The player attempts to leave the room through the exit positioned on the opposite side of the screen, thus entering the next room. Should the fifth exit be reached, the player is awarded the remaining value of a constantly decreasing timer, and goes forward to tackle the next city.

When the eighth city is conquered, the defences are deactivated, and the Imperium is able to successfully invade.

This comes as a pleasant surprise, since Octapolis has had little publicity up until now, and is an extremely high quality production.

Although some might think it is the ghost of Sanxion past come back to haunt the games world, the shoot-'em-up section has far more advanced gameplay, and actually uses the extra viewing angle to good effect.

This is not to diminish the role of the platform sequence, which is very sharp, and brings back distant memories of Impossible Mission in its graphic style.

The only niggle is that the gameplay doesn't vary enough to maintain interest for long. Still, platform and shoot-'em-up addicts should both find Octapolis very appealing.

Although Octapolis is a combination of two unoriginal ideas, the gameplay is slick and frantic enough to make it thoroughly enjoyable.

The blasting part is very much like a two-way scrolling Sanxion, but is very fast and has a great control method. The split-screen idea is novel, but I found myself just using the top one, rather than both.

The second section is equally entertaining, and the going gets pretty tough when the spaceman is guided around a crowded screen. Later levels become particularly devious, and quick thoughts and reflex actions are required to succeed.

Octapolis is fast and furious, and offers enough to keep an arcade addict amused for quite some time. The action may become a little tedious once all eight levels have been conquered, but by then I think it would have given more than its fair share of entertainment.

This should appeal to fans of both platform games and shoot-'em-ups, having a good slice of action from both genres.

Both interior and exterior graphics are excellent (note the three-level parallax on the shooting sections) and the whole package looks very smooth and polished.

Thankfully, the gameplay also profits from a good dose of attention, being addictive and playable. The presentation is very high, with little touches that make it comfortable, such as the fact that you can move the ship forward and still fire backwards at the same time.

Overall control of the ship is quite tricky, and the dual viewpoints stretch the reactions and concentration to new limits. For me, the addictive interior sections slightly outshine the blasting parts, but both hang together well and make up one very entertaining game.

Presentation 78%
Good all-round presentation, and useful options.

Graphics 90%
Very smooth-scrolling graphics, with effective parallax and sharp definition.

Sound 71%
A high quality but bland soundtrack plays throughout, replaced by sound effects in the shoot-'em-up sections.

Hookability 87%
The shoot-'em-up takes some getting used to, but once achieved is great fun. The platform sections are straightforward enough and appeal immediately.

Lastability 80%
The action is a touch repetitive, but is challenging enough to keep the player happy for quite some time.

Overall 86%
A highly polished and competent arcade blaster, intelligently combined with a challenging platform game.