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Thalamus has already hit the headlines with two horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-ups, Sanxion and Delta and are set to repeat that success with their third, Armalyte. And how...!

The game has been programmed in Exeter by newcomers Cyberdyne Systems, who've taken it upon themselves to prove that it's possible to produce an arcade-quality gameon the C64. And they have. If feelings of scepticism are creeping in, bear with me and I'll explain.

Armalyte is a traditional horizontal scroller in the respect that you have to travel from left to right across a series of alien landscapes, blasting all and sundry. At the end of each level is a giant guardian who is disposed of before the next level is tackled. There are seven levels in all; each one is loaded separately and boasts a full 32K of graphics data. What makes Armalyte so very special is its technical excellent and finesse; it takes Commodore gaming to heights previously undreamed of...

At the start of a game, one or two players are selected. In the one-player mode, the ship is equipped with a remote drone which floats in front of the craft giving extra firepower. In two-player both players battle simultaneously in Salamander-fashion, although unlike the arcade game, both players have the same firepower. With that selected, the game begins.

Each ship starts out with two double-shot firepower and a complement of three superweapons, chosen from keyboard and activated with a long press of the fire button. The first gives a massive aerial burst, which practically fills the screen with laser fire. Second is laser fire which passes through scenery to destroy craft or installations that are otherwise impossible to hit, and the third is similar to the first, but releases fewer, but more powerful laser bursts. When a superweapon is fired, the weapons charge is depleted and it slowly regenerates, represented by a bar at the bottom of the screen.

As the player progresses through the landscape, pods drift onto the screen and are shot repeatedly to cycle through their contents. The first item gives an extra double-shot (up to six double shots), and the second and third give rear-ward and vertical firepower respectively. Fourth is tri-lasers (a pretty devastating addition to six double-shots) and fifth is conserve and converge protects against this reversal process. Sixth and seventh are generators and batteries, which are collected to speed up recharge time. A complete set of four batteries and generators gives a very quick recharge time, so you can use the superweapon almost repeatedly to much devastation (and satisfaction). If a pod is collected without being shot, the ship becomes invincible for five seconds.

The first level is set in a mechanical city, where metallic constructions, electric forcefields and batteries of laser emplacements await to destroy the player. Swarms of aliens infest the cityscape, and collecting extra weapons is essential to ensure survival. Halfway through the first level a mini-mothership attacks, and is disposed of to proceed through the rest of the city to where a giant guardian awaits. This is unlike anything I've ever seen on the Commodore; it's half a screen high and spins around the screen at an awesome velocity.

Next comes the ruins, consisting of broken pillars and monuments, complete with bomb-splitting gargoyles and even more aliens. The third level is my favourite and comprises of backgrounds inspired by Hans Rudi-Geiger's Necromonicon. The graphics are absolutely stunning, and I'd even be so bold to say that it knocks spots off the second level of the Vulcan Venture arcade game!

Later levels include a space section, complete with a myriad of swirling aliens, and a fabulous mountain level.

Armalyte's beauty isn't just skin deep - it's also the most playable shoot-'em-up I've encountered. The gameplay is incredibly hectic, with an almost unfeasible amount of aliens swirling and whirling around the screen. Once again, new ground is broken with up to 20 of your bullets and 20 different alien ships on-screen at the same time - and no glitches whatsoever!

The difficulty level is extremely well balanced and allows you to get a little further into the game, and consequently you find yourself glued in front of the monitor as you repeatedly play just to see whether you can get to the next level; addiction isn't the word for it - Armalyte almost requires a government health warning!

I seem to have exhausted all the superlatives in this review, but believe me: Armalyte will knock your socks off! It's simply the absolute pinnacle of Commodore gaming at present, and sets new standards that many will find nigh on impossible to match.

Buy it and experience perfection in motion.