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1985 - the day after what, you may well ask? The day after the death of the tyrant, according to the blurb, though as far as I can see she's still around.

Okay, so this is another 1985, a parallel universe or somesuch, because in it the old regime has stored nuclear plasma on four neighbouring planets, and with your earthly supplies running out it's going to be a cold winter unless you can retrieve it.

The blurb also tells you that the spacecraft has 'intricate controls'. If by that it means the damn thing steers like a double decker on ice then it's not far wrong. Despite their ability to use space as a nuclear store cupboard the best the scientists can do for their shuttles is turn and thrust controls. Remember how unsteerable the blaster was in Asteroids once you started moving? in 1985 you'll probably spend your first few attempts trying to leave the space station without crashing into the ceiling.

Once out into the wilds of space you can drift up to a planet, avoiding a passing UFO and then the action starts as you try to locate the fuel pods while alien gun emplacements take pot shots at you. The landscape has a sort of blocky Defender feel to it, though unfortunately you're not armed so there's no getting your own back for the unfriendly welcome.

The curse of this game is that it seems to have so little point. The only challenge comes from the unroadworthy nature of your spacecraft, but that is likely to prove more frustrating than fun. At the price it may pass a few hours but 1985 is certainly not game of the year.

Jerry Muir

Publisher: Mastertronic Price: £1.99 Memory: 48K Joystick: Kempston, interface 2. cursor

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