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Bounty Hunter is the latest River game to hit the C64, containing 125 locations it arrives with a map, documentation sheet and a hint sheet - what about that for support, eh?

The game surrounds the lethal weapon Viroids, a neuro-viral lifeform, no less.

The first experimental batch of 22 specimens is on the way to HQ when the ship carrying the cargo crashes on the uninhabited planet of Karakata. This lies far too near to enemy strongholds to risk a direct confrontation by landing there, but the Viroids can not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. This is where you, the mercenary, come in. Your mission is to seek and destroy the 22 escaped Viroids.

Bounty Hunter, which loads quickly via the Freeze Machine load sequence, uses fairly short location descriptions written with yellow text on a black screen - probably the best colour-coded combination. There is also a score routine telling you how many Viroids you have killed.

Puzzle quality as ever, is excellent. Actually, this is the one feature that has probably kept River Software a popular company all these years. Bounty Hunter itself does not really stand out for any specific reason (it does not have the gasp-worthy 1,500 locations that feature in the Spectrum version, for example). There are no flowing paragraphs of prose, no complex branches of description to open with the EXAM command - there is nothing dramatically impressive, no gimmicks.

However, you will quickly reach the stage where you could be playing a classic Infocom or a hot, new Sierra game for all you care because you will quickly lose yourself in the puzzles that link the various elements of the plot. Odd, seemingly meaningless objects will require lateral thinking if you are to decipher what is required in a specific location.

More thought has been placed towards the design and heart of the game than the gloss. So ignore your first impression that this is a simple, old-fashioned adventure. The gameplay quickly shows through, giving you hours of enjoyment. Recommended.