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It didn't take Virgin quite as long to get Dan Dare off the ground as it's taken Ocean with Knight Rider, and now that the game is here it seems that, just for once, the wait was worthwhile. In fact, Dan Dare bears some resemblance to another Ocean game in that it's like a simpler version of 'V'. That's not necessarily a criticism since although 'V' was quite impressive, I found that game a bit too fiddly to be addictive.

Dan Dare on the other hand, does away with the complicated icons of 'V' and concentrates on shoot-'em-up action, with just a touch of platform hopping and object collecting thrown in as well.

The plot is explained by a small comic strip that comes packaged with the game: It all starts with a futuristic Eamonn Andrews jumps and tells Dan - 'This is your life'. At which point, none other than the Mekon himself makes a comeback and takes over the broadcast, warning all the television viewers in the Solar System of his latest fiendish plot. Heading towards the Earth under Mekon's control is a hollowed out asteroid large enough to destroy the entire plant upon collision. Inside the asteroid is a self-destrct mechanism that can be activated in order to prevent the collision, but the Mekon will only destroy it if he is declared absolute Ruler of The Universe.

Of course it goes without saying that having old green bonce as ruler of the universe is a prospect too horrifying to contemplate, so the Earth authorities have no choice but to refuse his demands. But how to save Earth?

Back in the television studio Dan's jaw sets firmly, his upper lip goes thrusting skywards and Digby (the ever faithful, but utterly useless sidekick) heads for the nearest McDonalds, prior to getting Dan's ship, The Anastasia, ready for take-off.

Within minutes Dan and Digby are on course for the asteroid, ready to take on the Mekon and his followers, the Treens, and save the Earth - just like the good old days.

Inside, the hollowed out asteroid contains five sectors full of armed Treens, corridors, ledges and grav shafts (lifts, connecting different floors). In each of the five sectors there is one control element for the self destruct mechanism, and only when you've collected the element in each sector can you gain entrance to the next sector (assuming that you've managed to find the relevant locked door).

The screen display shows two floors at a time, so you can often see the Treens descending from above or an object that you might want to collect, and this adds to the atmosphere of the game as it makes the action seem that much busier when you can see other things going on around Dan.

You've got just two hours to complete your mission, and although Dan can't be killed, the Treens can shoot at him and drain his energy which results in Dan being captured and carried off to the cell in that sector. Escape from the cells is no problem but it does result in the loss of ten minutes and much of the skill of the game lies in how good you can get at fighting the Treens as the loss of time is likely to be your major obstacle in completing the game.

The laser that Dan is armed with isn't 100% accurate, and your supply of ammunition is limited, so you have to learn when to stand to fight and when to turn that jaw in the other direction and run away, hopefully to pick off the Treens on some other screen.

The action here is similar to that in the Commando type of game, with Dan and his laser faced with hordes or alien soldiers, but the animation is unusually good and the element of uncertainty in using your laser adds to the excitement of the game. And, since getting shot too many times cuts into your time rather than simply killing you, combat becomes a matter of judgement instead of just endless rounds of kill or be killed. As I mentioned earlier, there are times when running away is the wiser course.

The five sectors of the asteroid add up to quite a lot of corridors, and it's probably a good idea to make some sort of rough map as you go along in order to remember some of the important locations. Each time you find one of the control elements these have to be returned to the control room in sector 1. That's my only doubt about the game, since you have to go through the sectors in a fixed order and return to the control room each time you might eventually get a bit bored with retracing the same routes by the time you get into the final couple of sectors. Of course the system of corridors is sufficiently complex to allow you to vary your routes but I found it quicker to get around, and easier to remember my way, if I stuck roughly to the same routes each time.

Still, that doesn't make Dan Dare any less enjoyable especially as the main challenge is to improve your combat skill and speed in completing the mission, not simply finding the correct route through the corridors. And the game is very well presented, with one nice touch being the way that the screen is presented like a frame from a comic strip, with captions and messages from the Mekon flashing on screen every now and then in the same way that dialogue accompanies the illustrations in a comic.

Because of the delay in getting the game ready, and the speed at which the quality of software is improving these days, Dan Dare isn't quite as impressive as it might have been had it appeared last year when it was originally planned. But, even so, it's still a highly enjoyable and playable game and might even be the best game yet from Virgin.

A monster hit.