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Decathlon is the most exhausting video game ever to come up before the jury! You should have seen them when they came out to present the verdict - the foreman could hardly stand up!

The reason for all this tiredness is due to an entirely new innovation in videogaming - the shake-speed joystick.

It's not a new joystick, but a new technique in David Crane's - of Pitfall fame - latest game - Decathlon.

You control an athlete taking part in the famous Olympic ten-event contest. To make your man run forward you have to move your stick as fast as you can from left to right. The faster you shake it, the faster he moves.

Speed is essential and not just to win the 100, 400 and 1500 metre races. You also need as much speed as you can muster to gain maximum height in the pole vault, high jump and length in the long jump. Speed also enables you to gain momentum when throwing the javelin, discus, or putting the shot.

Your athlete has the advantage of a speedometer at the bottom of the screen, which measures his pace with a red "fuel level" style display. When he's at full pelt the time will shoot up to level six, and fall back to nil when stationary.

To jump or throw press the fire button. Some of the events are more fun than others - my personal favourites are the high jump and the hurdles.

This is a real winner of a game from Activision for the Atari VCS. Like the rest of the Activision games, if you get good enough at them you are rewarded. In Decathlon you can send off for a gold medal if you score over 10,000 points. Available now at £29.95.

This is your chance to go for gold. The most playable sports simulation for the Atari 2600 - for up to four players.