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After conducting test flights of their new Skywalk jet bikes, the two brothers, Hark and Kren, return home to discover their village burnt to the ground and their family murdered. It transpires that this foul deed was performed by the Scorpions, a group of space pirates who occupy their time by stealing the wealth of the solar system, then use the booty to fund the construction of an underground city of mines and tunnels on their home planet of Scorpia.

In their mourning, the two brothers mixed their blood and have taken a solemn oath to seek out the Scorpions and avenge their peoples' death, as blood brothers. Their scientific prowess was used intensively to perfect their Skywalk Jet Bikes, thrust packs, and hand weapons, and only now have they begun their search...

You control both Hark and Kren, using a combination of joystick and keyboard, and begin at the entrance of one of Scorpia's mine shafts. One of the brothers is selected for the platform section (beginning in the mine) while the other mounts his Jet Bike. When they are selected, each brother is allocated a different control method, one being under keyboard control and the other's movements being influenced by the joystick. A keyboard control allows the player to swap between Hark and Kren.

In the Jet Bike section one of the brothers manoeuvres his vehicle around rectangular buildings, while a limited amount of fuel drains away. The Skywalk Jet Bikes are fitted with laser cannons which can destroy lightly shaded blocks if they cannot be avoided in time. Darker blocks, on the other hand, indicate mine entrances, so they should be flown into.

Meanwhile, back in the mine, the other brother has to negotiate catacombs of catwalks using his jet-pack which has a set amount of thrust power. The mine is stiff with all sorts of hostile Scorpion peons (what?) which deplete the brother's energy level should he bump into them. Like his sibling he is equipped with a laser gun to despatch the enemy, but attention must be paid to the laser power remaining. Weapons, fuel and the stolen gems should be collected, and should Hark and Kren meet up, all their energies are shared on contact, symbolising their blood brotherhood. Ahhh... 'Snice, innit?

After the favourable reviews the Spectrum version of Blood Brothers earned, I was expecting something a little more from the rather more advanced facilities available to the programmer of a Commodore version.

The game design seems very interesting, but the implementation of the 3D Jet Bike sequence and the mine exploration leaves something to be desired. Joystick and keyboard response in both is terribly sluggish, which results in crash after crash in the former section, where the programmer has attempted to include inertial control, and almost total lack of sensible control in the latter.

The mine sequence is also marred by the anomalous recoil from the laser gun which is so strong it knocks the player almost a third of a screen backwards! The graphics and sound aren't too bad, but my ministrations were met with too sluggardly a regard to keep me playing.

The scenario behind Blood Brothers is a little more original than the average science fiction program, as is the gameplay, but I can't help thinking Gremlin missed out on what could have been a very playable game.

If more thought had gone into the graphics and control response, a mildly addictive product would be on offer, but Blood Brothers is visually unattractive with gameplay to match. Inertia is poorly implemented in the Jet Bike section, and control of the jet pack is tricky, particularly with the gun recoil. Sorry, Gremlin, you missed the boat.

Presentation 49%
Comprehensive controls, but response via both keyboard and joystick is uncompromisingly slow.

Graphics 47%
Characterless sprites and slow and unconvincing 3D.

Sound 40%
Vague attempt at atmospheric title music and outdated effects.

Hookability 51%
Interesting dual play made tedious by graphics and control method.

Lastability 40%
If you can fight through the difficult player/computer interface, there are many rooms to explore.

Overall 39%
A nice idea let down by poor implementation.