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The latest Microprose simulation lets the player join the Airborne Rangers and partake in military activities behind enemy lines. There are tweleve different scenarios, ranging from destroying an enemy radar installation, through stealing a code book, to cutting a gas pipeline.

The action begins with a vertically scrolling screen, where the player flies behind enemy lines. Supplies are dropped, and the player balls out.

Having landed safely, the action begins. The ranger is directed across the multi-directionally scrolling landscape, and walks, crawls or runs where appropriate. The action zones can be set in arctic, desert or temperate climates, but are always riddled with minefields, enemy bunkers, soldiers and trenches. The ranger heads for a specific point on the map, such as a weapons dump, or a POW camp, carries out his task, and makes his way to the pick up

If you've ever wanted to become Rambo - here's the chance you've been waiting for. Airborne Ranger is like a souped-up Commando, and gives the player the opportunity to wage a one-man war, causing chaos, destruction and slaughter to an anonymous enemy.

I like the way that a Ranger is saved, so that he can be used over and over again until he either retires, or is killed in action.

Neither the graphics nor the sound are particularly outstanding, but the gameplay has plenty of depth, and there are many subtle touches that are only discovered after hours of play. The big drawback is the ludicrously high price tag - if Airborne Ranger was a tenner, I'd recommend it.

Microprose has again produced a game with enough arcade action to keep trigger-happy players blasting till the cows come home, and plenty of strategy for the map-and-dividers squad. One of the good points is that missions aren't simply soldier-killing exercises, but often have orders not to shoot anybody until near the target area, so as not to alert the enemy to your presence.

The game also instills a tendency to take more care of your character than in many combat games, as the same one is taken through many scenarios. The main criticism I have is that in the long run, scenarios become repetitive. The other flaw is the ludicrous overpricing - twenty pounds on disk, and fifteen on tape is really going over the top, and makes the game poor value for money.

Presentation 95%
Excellent presentation throughout. Brilliant instruction manual, and there's even a keyboard overlay.

Graphics 72%
Reasonably well animated sprites, but the backdrops are very bland.

Sound 52%
No music, but good use of effects during the missions.

Hookability 76%
The missions are straightforward, but controls can be daunting, even with the keyboard overlay.

Lastability 81%
A dozen missions, all with multiple difficulty levels provide plenty of lasting appeal.

Overall 73%
Lots of action and some real-time strategy - but ludicrously over-priced.