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Many years ago, in the time of magic and legends, Kai and his lifelong sweetheart Medb [Pardon? - Ed] were to be wed by one of the village's high druids. Alas, Slough Feg and his evil cohorts had other ideas, and Medb was kidnapped and taken to the far off 'Caves of Dreams', lair of the dreaded demon lord.

Kai swore he'd rescue Medb and wreak revenge on Feg and his demonic legions. It's a pity he didn't swear it in a quieter voice - they heard him, and turned him into an insect! Undeterred, Kai bravely battles through the caves using the magic granted him by the Druid lords, and he'll need it - if he gets through the volcanoes, acid drops and fireballs he must still face a nightmare confrontation with Feg.

You start the game with three lives, each of which has an energy rating. Unfortunately, the display system is as clear as mud - two dots on the right of the control panel change from white to black through all the colours of the rainbow; when both are black, you die! I know the good old-fashioned energy bar isn't very original, but at least it works!

Initially set against a horizontally scrolling background (vertical on later levels), free movement is allowed on-screen but you can't retrace your steps.

Thankfully, the background doesn't auto-scroll so you decide the pace, and despite the obvious resemblance to Scramble, collision with the cave floor or ceiling isn't hazardous.

Kai can move in eight directions - when the joystick is in neutral, gravity takes effect. Control response is absolutely bang on the nail, so you've only got yourself to blame if you get creamed! Your crappy one-shot gun thingie can be improved by grabbing the two types of icon left by decreased demons: one sort can be accumulated and cashed at whim, the other gives 'Zen' points - spent on health and weapons in the sorcerer's shop.

Sparse animation has allowed the programmers to concentrate on fast, exciting gameplay, and it works - the sprites still look the part, and when the screen fills the action doesn't slow at all! The end-of-level baddies also move with minimal animation, but their relatively large size means they do suffer for it. It's nice to see that the baddies behave intelligently, as far too many games take the easy option and have them just trundling back and forth like tube trains.

There are no continues, which is a pain, but when you die you reappear exactly where you bit the dust - no harshly spaced start-up points here, folks!

Alien World is a real killer. The programmers have kept gimmichs and window dressing to an absolute minimum, and instead concentrated on dynamic, exciting gameplay that grabs you by the throat and just won't let go! No token attempts at strategy or problem solving, just straight-forward, rip-roaring shoot-'em-up action all the way. Great stuff!

The shoot-'em-up game type is almost as old as I am, and thus I'm sick and tired of this hackneyed genre. But, saying that, I had to almost literally prise the joystick out of my hand to write this comment. Alien World is ace (old hat, but brill nonetheless).

The names of a couple of the characters will sound familiar to fans of Slaine The Barbarian, i.e. Medb and Slough Feg (surely they can't be the same). Poor old Kari really has a tough time of it, the devilish minions of Slough Fed take their good-guy-bashing very seriously.

The sprites are bold and colourful, and Kai bears more than a passing resemblance to the hero of Gremlin's Venus The Flytrap. And a word of warning, make sure that your joystick is in good nick before you start playing.

The action is fast and very frantic, thus you will be twisting the stick all over the shop (It's check the warranty time, folks!). Alien World is a blaster's dream come true, and at a budget price too! 85%

Presentation 79%
Could do with continues, otherwise it's brill!

Graphics 89%
Unspectacular, but give a real feel for the game.

Sound 78%
Effective spot effects, no tune to bop away to!

Hookability 90%
It's great! Blast away to your heart's content!

Lastability 88%
Should have you coming back for ages for a blast!

Overall 86%