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A game like this turns up about as often as Halley's Comet. Hyperforce is that rare thing, a totally original idea, superbly programmed with excellent sound and graphics.

No platforms, no ladders, no nasty beasties, no treasure. Who needs them? In fact, Hyperforce is so different, it's not easy to describe, nothing to compare it with, you see.

But it does have a familiar look about it, Jeff Minter circa 1984 I'd say. Someone out there obviously likes his style, which is, for those of you who don't know, sort of, well, weird.

Hyperforce is arcade action played at about three times the speed of light. You control the Startron, or at last half of it. The right half has been badly damaged so you must pick up pods with the operable left half.

Before your Startron pulse runs out you must retrieve a given number of pods, in the meantime the chamber walls are closing in on you. The walls absorb pods as they sweep over them, so you must hold them back, either by firing at them, or by dragging them back. The pods pop up all over the place though, so you have to be careful not to squash them by dragging the walls back over them.

Each Startron has a limited lifespan or pulse in which to collect the required number of pods. On later screens, the pulse can be extended by collecting tymers which slow down the pulse counter. You have to keep one eye on the sub tracks, however, which have the opposite effect. They speed up the pulse counter, giving you less time to collect pods.

This isn't a game I would recommend it to the inexperienced. Everything happens so quickly it takes a while just to work out what's going on. But once you do get the hang of it, the rewards are great. There aren't many experiences that compare with playing at three times light speed.

Did I mention the graphics? Not really graphics so much as bands of colour - all over the place, turn the colour knob right up to get the best effect, and the sound too. If you don't have a colour telly go and buy one, buy two and play them both at the same time.

Seriously though, this is a great game and if you don't buy it you're an utter utter utter utter [Spit it out - Ed] Wally.