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SOMEWHERE out there in the flatlands of video, ghostly tanks still crawl about their perpetual battlezone. Bazam by Alan Firminger has been launched to prove it.

In the wilderness of outline graphics, tank games have always reigned supreme. For Bazam, Firminger has stripped away all but the bare essentials of the game. A blue background represents the playing area, and the obstacles are all shaped like cones. A radar display shows the position of the enemy, and information on the type of tank opposing you is also displayed. Joystick controls are scorned.

Because Bazam is such a simple version of the game, it does have the advantage of speed. Most Spectrum tank games suffer from incredibly slow moving weaponry, trundling about the screen like some iron-clad monstrosity from the trenches of the Somme. At least in Bazam it only takes a few seconds to find your target.

Written, surprisingly, for the now almost defunct 16K Spectrum, Bazam is a genuine genetic throwback to an earlier age of arcade games. If you are into nostalgia, wear your best mindless arcade zombie grin and have yourself a ball.