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Nuclear war has decimated Earth and the human race is all but extinct. Below the charred remains of the city of Cholo lies a huge, self-contained bunker; a reinforced shelter against the ravages of the holocaust, and home to the remnants of the human race.

It was always intended that the computer in charge of the bunker should order Sentinel robots to open the shelter and allow the people of Cholo to reclaim the city. The damage sustained was greater than expected however, and contact between the main computer and the robots had been severed. Consequently, the bunker's inhabitants are held as unwitting captives - even though radiation levels became safe more than 300 years ago.

You have now been chosen to liberate the underground prisoners. To do this, you must direct robots around the ruins of Cholo, gathering information necessary for the release of the bunker's occupants.

The city of Cholo and its robotic inhabitants are presented using forced perspective vector graphics. This gives a first-person view of the city, as seen by the robot under your command.

The explorable area is surrounded by a deadly radioactive wasteland. A geiger-counter type 'click' is given off when radiation is encountered, and a meter signals the strength of the emissions.

A small map of the city is displayed at the top of the screen, with a flashing dot signalling the position of the currently controlled robot. Initially, only one robot is under your control - a RAT grade model codenamed 'Rizzo'. However, it is possible to gain control of other robots, allowing a small android army to be amassed.

Attack from robot guards and strong radiation inflicts damage on your robot - a bar set at the top of the screen indicates the level of damage sustained. If the bar fills completely, your robot dies and control switches to another. The game ends on the destruction of your final robot.

The package comes complete with a novella to set the scene, and a large coloured map of pre-war Cholo - a useful aid to your exploration.

As the action is fairly sparse, a game of this sort depends heavily on the atmosphere grabbing and holding the attention. In the case of Cholo, the feeling of 'being there' is totally dependent on the strength of the vector graphics - and they are only just adequate.

There are some really annoying aspects, such as when buildings flash into existence right next to you rather than gradually appearing. The gameplay is interesting enough and there is plenty of city to explore, but I would advise you to look before you leap - Cholo could have been much better.

The storyline is superb, but I'm not too sure about the rest of the package. Cholo shows the user a whole new world, and consequently a lot of initial interest is generated. However, when you've been slowly moving around for a while the exploration bug wears off and things begin to niggle, like the rather slow update on the vector graphics and the sparse nature of the environment.

Another annoying point is the way objects and buildings suddenly leap into view out of nowhere, and then blink out of existence when you turn left or right. I can see that this would be highly rewarding for those who persevere. However, the lack of fast action bored me very quickly.

Cholo is deceptively dull - from glancing at the packaging and reading the novella, I thought it was going to one hell of a game... but sadly it isn't.

After a few plays I grew tired of the sluggish graphics and control method, and bored with the tedious exploration involved. There's a fair bit to do, but not enough variety and absorbing action. I wouldn't consider buying Cholo - unless you're very rich and enjoy slow, unrewarding games.

Presentation 79%
Well packaged with a fairly interesting novella - however, there are a few annoying niggles, and the save function doesn't work properly.

Graphics 68%
Occasionally confusing vector graphics which fail to convince.

Sound 48%
No music, but reasonable spot effects.

Hookability 53%
Not terribly easy to get into - when all else fails, read the instructions. Thoroughly.

Lastability 73%
It'll take some time to explore the whole city, and even longer to solve the game - perseverance is the order of the day.

Value For Money 44%
A high price to pay for slick packaging and a mediocre game.

Overall 62%
An intriguing idea, let down by slow and more often than not unrewarding gameplay.