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Shades of the Falklands infamous bomb alley must have been in the programmers' minds recently as a flurry of air-sea battles are bombarding the software shelves.

Hopping aboard HMS Spectrum are Krakatoa from Abbex and Richard Wilcox's Blue Thunder which we played against each other in an explosive head to head.

Both games feature choppers performing a dual mission of defence and rescue over the briny.

The Blue Thunder chopper has the most realistic flight graphics - banking and dipping its nose as it moves forward.

The aim of the game is to blast your way into a nuclear reactor which pops up out of the sea like an electronic sea serpent.

Getting in is relatively easy, but blowing up the radioactive core takes much more skill. Once the possibility of a nuclear blast has been eliminated, you can rescue your comrades held on an adjacent island.

Blue Thunder is only average entertainment. The chopper movement is either too slow or too fast and some of the ground installations showering you with fire cannot be shot.

Far better value for money is Abbex's Krakatoa. The game has so many clever little graphics frills that it is difficult to mention them all.

The basic idea is to protect a tanker being bombarded by enemy ships in the bay. A radar scanner enables you to see the bandits and sneaking submarines. You'll really need to start bashing your keyboard in an attempt to down those enemy planes and subs.

When the tanker sustains a hit, the crew are thrown into the water and it is your job to let down a rope and winch them up to the safety of the chopper.

This is one of those games where you need about thirty-six fingers but, despite this, it's hellishly addictive. The more I played it, the more features I discovered.

Krakatoa from Abbex really silences Wilcox's Blue Thunder and is in the shops now at £5.95.