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Anyone who saw the film Tommy will recall the sight of Elton John, wearing massive sunglasses and even larger platform boots, singing Pinball Wizard.

Unfortunately for Tommy, he did not have the benefit of the new game from Shibumi Software, Arc Pinball, otherwise he may have gone on to even greater heights.

For this is a pinball machine simulator par excellence, having all the features of the real thing, flippers, tilt, springloaded firing pin and coin slot, plus digitised sound and pictures, speech, applause.

It is also loaded with the qualities essential for any computer game ensuring hours of captivation and fun.

The single disc is crammed full of program and the disc drive whirrs away while the game is being played as different graphics and sounds are loaded smoothly into memory for the next stage.

This does not detract from the enjoyment as the gameplay is usually ongoing and the loading process does not cause any delay.

After double-clicking on the pinball icon, a realistic hourglass appears on screen, the grains of sand smoothly running as the title screen is loaded.

The title is announced both in script and voice, the latter having a slight continental accent - Shibumi is a Portuguese company.

The screen is filled with a view of the end panel of the pinball machine - two cash slots, start button, firing pin and Acorn monitor. It's here where you choose your sound, music and picture options as well as being informed of the tilt, fire, flipper keys and so on.

Once you've made your choices, a 20p appears and enters the slot and the machine moves into action.

If you select the no-picture option the background is a navy blue but should you choose a background picture you'll be rewarded with some very nice graphics.

On to the game itself. The flippers move extremely realistically without hammering the keys to achieve your object. But the real treat is when you fire the ball.

The mini Acorn monitor in the top right of the screen shows a soccer ball and two legs - digitised, not sprites - and as the ball is fired, one leg kicks the football away. Sometimes this picture is followed by a mini car speeding along the road - again an actual picture.

Movement of the ball is so smooth and lifelike that you soon imagine you are playing one of the original machines in a seaside arcade.

The ball bounces around the gadgetry that fills a pinball machine, generating realistic noises as the different barriers, lights and gates are hit.

Each time one is frustratingly lost the Acorn monitor shows a lavatory seat being lifted and the picture disappears down the pan.

If the ball sticks, pressing the Caps Lock and the right Control key tilts the machine and eventually frees the ball - a thoughtful addition to this well-programmed masterpiece.

Get stuck at the mouth of the lost ball hole and the monitor shows a picture of a boy waist deep in water seeking help.

Once your score is reasonably presentable, the top half of the pinball machine becomes available, as the gate to the next level is opened for a short time. Firing the ball through it is not easy, but adds to the atmosphere.

When your last ball is lost the screen changes to a score screen. Your final tally clicks up and a silver cup is displayed in the mini acorn monitor to the sound of real applause. As higher scores are reached, the background picture to the pinball machine changes. But I must confess that I have yet to reach picture two, although my eight year old son has got there and is well on the way to picture three.

Arc Pinball is a superb game: addictive, well thought out and what others should be aiming for in utilising the power of the ARM chip.

Baz Racon