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Take Dixon Of Dock Green, spray-paint him silver and give him a dangerously big pistol. Now stand back, and stay out of trouble. It's true. Robocop, the bobby who inspires everyone he meets to say, "Please stop pointing that dangerously big pistol at me," has finally deigned to join us on the pages of Replay.

Set amid the picturesque rubble of futuristic Old Detroit, this bullet-ridden game sets you a stiff challenge. The police are on strike, there's war on the streets and criminals are running Rife - a disreputable nightclub. [Groan! - Ed] Only one man can tame the city, but unfortunately Judge Dredd is advertising consoles so you have to take control of Robocop instead.

Following the plot of the film closely, the game has you stomping about menacingly, obeying your inbuilt orders to make the streets safe for Detroit's innocent citizens. In addition, you gradually piece together evidence exposing the head of the gang that has been terrorising the city. Simultaneously, you manage to rescue a hostage, clear out a drugs factory, eat some baby food and shoot lots of people. You also skilfully discover the identity of this kingpin of crime. Why, it's none other than Dick Jones, your kindly old boss! (Curses.) Unfortunately for truth, justice and the end of the picture, the scoundrel escapes. Thinking quickly, you get Jon North to hack into the system, allowing you to leap forwards and snap on the cuffs. Hurrah!

I have to admit, this first adventure of the electric flatfoot is one of my favourite games. Its presentation is immaculate, with particularly knee-slapping animation. Sound is sparse but crunchily effective, and the gameplay itself is crammed with variety. The nine levels avoid repetition by alternating between eight-way scrolling and Op Wolf shootouts. with each scrolling level bringing a new feature such as the bikers of Level Two and ED209's appearance in Level Six. The identikit subgame which is thrown in for good measure, has to be the best puzzle interlude of them all. It's a real eye test as you feverishly assemble the face of your wouldbe assassin. Let's be honest though - Robocop is an easy game, and this has annoyed a fair number of people. However, there's a lot to be said for passing a few hours completing a game as opposed to spending them stuck on the first level. Buy it, play it and just have fun.