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It takes a good game to capture the imagination of the PCN's team of jaded games players. Stellar 7 managed easily.

Those awfully nasty aliens are invading Earth again and you're our last hope. The only chance of success lies in your vehicle, the Raven.

You begin in our solar system and have to fight off sufficient enemy units to find the Warplink, a sort of Einsteinian awayday ticket that whips you off to distant corners of the galaxy. You must do battle in six systems before arriving at the alien stronghold.

Those of you who remember Battle Zone from the arcades will be on familiar ground here, although Stellar 7 is a better game in many respects. What sets it apart from the run-of-the-mill action games is the attention to detail. You can select joystick or keyboard control, read a mission profile or go straight into the action.

A display of the opposition units is contained in a separate file and there are some nice touches of humour here. You can review all of this material between games, or skip it if you wish, although it contains some useful clues.

You begin on Earth beneath a blue sky inhabited by flying machines. A range of mountains sits on the horizon with the ground littered by large blocks and land vehicles. The blocks act as obstacles to movement but also offer some protection against enemy fire.

The rule at this stage is simple: if it moves, blast it. On the right of the screen two indicators show your energy supply and shield strength. Every hit you sustain reduces your shields by about a tenth.

When things get hairy you can invoke your Inviso Cloak. The screen display becomes an eerie black and red and you can prowl around in comparative safety, but it consumes energy at an alarming rate.

If you can zap about 150 points-worth of alien equipment a Warplink will appear and this will transport you to Antares where even more aliens await. Next stop is Rigel and your first intermediate objective - a refuelling pod.

As you progress, the opposition gets tougher. The graphics are splendidly conceived and executed in wireframe style, and the animation is quick and smooth.

Definitely a game for the connoisseur - a fast trigger finger isn't enough. You must think as well.