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Braxx Bluff is the latest 3D game from Micromega - the people who brought you Codename Mat and Full Throttle.

The action takes place on the planet Proton where you are given the job of rescuing a team of explorers from the vicious Prolon nasties who are feeding on their ship's energy supply.

To do this, you have to land on Prolon, find the explorers' crawler craft which is marooned at Braxx Bluff and get it back to your mothership before the crew die.

Sounds easy? Don't you believe it. Just landing on Prolon took me a couple of hours to crack and as for locating the dreaded Braxx Bluff - well, that was an all-evening job.

Game controls are kept simple - just up, down, left, right and fire - and you can choose the keys you want to use for these functions. This makes Braxx Bluff one of those nice games that you can play straight away - no need to read the cassette inlay about fifteen times before you know which keys do what.

One thing I didn't like about the game was the graphic at the beginning of level one which you have to watch every time you play - I would have preferred to be able to short-circuit it somehow and get straight into the game. Still it is pretty, I must admit.

Braxx Bluff has five levels altogether - tha Lander Phase described above, the Alker Phase in which you have to locate the crawler with the aid of audible signals, the Land Crawler Phase in which you negotiate Prolon in the six-speed Crawler, the Sea Crawler Phase takes you into the uncertain waters of Prolon and finally, for the really super-skilled, you find the besieged ship, enter it and see the commander's smiling face congratulating you.

Braxx Bluff should provide several hours challenging gameplay on your Spectrum. The only reservation I have is about the lasting appeal. What incentive is there once the crew have been rescued?