A flight simulator on the Atari VCS? C'mon, you've got to be kidding! Nope, no joke this. Not only a flight simulator but the ultimate simulator - the Space Shuttle!

Incredibly, Activision in general, and Steve Kitchen in particular, have managed to squeeze a full Space Shuttle mission into a video game system with less memory than your average brick. A magnificent effort that has worked.

You are in control of the 101st Shuttle mission (suitably far enough in the future to aid suspension of disbelief). Your brief is to blast off from Cape Canaveral, go into orbit and rendezvous with a satellite as many times as possible on the fuel you have, then go through re-entry and land your craft at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Simple, huh? Hah!

There's the small matter of digesting a superbly technical 32-page flight manual; familiarising yourself with about a dozen different on-screen displays and around 25 "Stat" message codes.

Then there are the controls. Every switch on the VCS console has a function (often two) from starting the countdown to opening and closing the cargo bay doors. An extremely useful overlay and 'crib sheet' is supplied which are tailored to fit the Atari console. Even the joystick has to cope with keeping the Shuttle on course in three axes as well as handling thrust and direction.

The screen displays a forward view through two of the Shuttle's windows. The limited graphics of the VCS are put to good use with convincing shots of space and the blue-green curvature of Earth rotating below. You really have to search for the satellite you are to rendezvous with but are rewarded with by a realistic rendering of it when eventually located.

Below the 'windows' are two horizontal thrust indicators and below those is the main display screen on which all flight conditions are monitored. The amount of information displayed in this small area is truly staggering and requires your full concentration.

So, once you have mastered all the above, you can take on a mission or two. A safe return to base will earn you a ranking dependent on the number of dockings you've achieved and minimum fuel units used.

Now I'd be the first to admit that I've never actually flown in the Shuttle (I have this allergy to excessive vacuum and absolute zero) but I imagine that this flight sim comes pretty close to the real McCoy. As a computer flight simulator, Space Shuttle is excellent; as a VCS flight sim it is truly outstanding. I'm looking forward to discovering a lot more about it on future missions.