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Ocean have done a great job converting this Commodore 64 game onto the Spectrum. They've managed to keep the same superb 3D graphics which sent the original version to number one in the charts. If they were impressive on the C64, on the Spectrum they're astonishing!

The sound is also effective, proving that the Spectrum can do more than just beep.

The idea of the game is to use your fleet of ten ships to destroy the Fortress of Kuhn-Lin, but to do so you must survive several dangerous attack-waves.

For the first, you can choose between attacking the enemy fleet head-on or trying to navigate a hidden passage. The latter strategy means guiding your fleet, one by one, through a large pool which has been heavily mined. It appears as a single screen with an entrance at bottom-left and exit at top-right.

But as well as dodging mines you must look out for the torpedoes.

The combat sequence which follows is graphically the most brilliant part of the program. Enemy aircraft take off from an aircraft carrier and swoop toward you to drop their bombs. The 3D effect, as the planes grow larger on the screen, is superb. If you survive this you move onto the artillery stage which means bombing the enemy ships. This can be tough going, especially as they return fire extremely accurately.

Should you make it, you move on to the beach-head which means another obstacle course. This time you're guiding tanks and have to avoid walls, mines, enemy bunkers, towers and tanks.

My only doubts about this one are in its long-term appeal. With graphics like this you could be seduced into buying something you won't end up playing all that often.

As Spectrum multi-screen shoot-'em-ups go, you're unlikely to find anything better than this. Through the secret passage and you can have a go at the enemy planes, frantically raising your barrels as they roar in from aircraft carriers. Getting the ships themselves is a different matter - a degree in ballistics would be useful. Whatever I tried, my shells dropped too short or too long.

Although the sound is as tinny as you would expect, graphics and animation more than compensate, making Beach-Head a must for those who like a fight.

After playing only once, I wondered about the lasting interest but soon I slipped into the atmosphere and from then on it's compulsive. Bound to be a big seller - enjoy it.

For some time now, C64 owners have been working out their genocidal tendencies on this excellent game, and a Spectrum version has been long awaited by the legions of dead-flesh-tappers.

The graphics are detailed and smooth, and given the hardware limitations, sound is reasonable.