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Those aliens will do anything fur a gimmick. Their latest wheeze is to oblige you to wear 3D glasses (included in the package), so you can admire them in perspective while you zap them.

3 Deep Space is a horizontal, shoot-'em game where the action takes place just above the stationary surface of a world decorated with lines of pyramids. Like the ones in Egypt, these pyramids just sit around and do nothing. They may have something to do with the aliens, but it's hard to be sure because the game came with no instructions beyond how to use the 3D glasses!

The aliens come from the right of the screen and are diamond shapes. Not only must you move up and down to shoot them as they come across, you must also move your laser gun 'into' and 'out of' the screen, otherwise the line of fire can pass behind, or in front of, them.

There are four blockbuster bombs available as well as the gun, and these will take out every alien on the screen at once. They should be used sparingly, preferably when the diamonds are coming thick and fast, and at all depths.

At 10,000 points, the onslaught of diamonds is replaced by a wave of aliens vaguely resembling Soviet spacecraft in appearance - all bulbs and antennae. If any alien makes it to your gun, four ear-splitting cracks like thunder announce the end of the game.

The game is simple in concept, and it's the 3D glasses that make it special. In case you haven't worn them before, there's one blue cellophane lens, and one red. By slightly separating the red and blue components of the picture on the screen, the glasses should simulate a 3D effect.

I've never found the system satisfactory, but the glasses are fun, and also good to wear at parties. In the case of 3 Deep Space, they make the graphics shimmer beautifully, but frankly, I found it easier to judge the distance of an alien by the separation of its red and blue shapes, and by its size. The farther it is, the smaller it is. Since the gun is the same size as the aliens, it makes shooting a matter of picking on someone your own size.

The configuration of keyboard keys used makes this game difficult. Once grasped, people will tire of it after a while. However, the departure from the usual 3D graphics claimed by games is admirable. Some people can fool their eyes with these glasses, and they'll enjoy it.