Previous Next

AN alternative to war is what Arcade Software calls its game Therbo. Picking your teeth is equally non-violent, but only marginally less boring.

You manoeuvre a jet-propelled rugby ball along a corridor while the computer attempts to force the blazing bladder into the touchlines.

In the first stage you must shoot up 'shapes that move across the screen' as the cassette insert puts it, running rapidly out of invention but scoring points for honesty. In the second stage you get to try for goal.

The action is limited to scrolling back and forth in the middle third of the screen. Even on the 'expert' level it is possible to sit back while the computer happily allows the Therbo to wobble into its goalmouth.

'A cross between American Football and World War III' says the press release. That sounds like something worth avoiding as well.