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Not another air-combat game! However, this was a premature feeling - I discovered what a thoroughly absorbing game Deep Strike really was. You take control of a World War I fighter. Mission: protect and guide four bombers to their drop-point - the enemy's fuel dump.

Taking off is automatic (hurray!), the grid landscape scrolling beneath you. Durell has done a good job with this: trees, houses, tanks and hills all increase in size the nearer you get to them. Control is very realistic. Any slight movement will cause the plane to tilt one way or the other.

One annoying feature, though, is the tendency for one of your bombers to position itself in front of you. Great, it may take the brunt of the attack, but when you go to shoot anything out of the skies, nine times out of ten it will be your own bomber.

The start of your mission is fairly quiet, the occasional Red Baron coming in for a sortie. If you are really lucky, a Black Baron will come tearing through the skies pumping lead into you as though his life depended on it. If not dealt with promptly, it's all over for you and your squadron.

Deviating off course means certain death, for ground-to-air defence systems come into action and they are mean. The nearer your destination, the heavier are the enemy attacks, not only from the air but also from the ground. Flak builds up something chronic, giving the impression of a foggy day. If that weren't enough to divert you attention, barrage balloons have been thrown in as well. No matter how many things you blow out of the air, something miraculously manages to replace it.

Non-stop action is definitely an understatement.

Flying into hills is not too healthy - it damages your propellers. Ana you know what happens when the propellers have been chewed up. If your lead bomber gets blown away then after several seconds, a replacement comes swooping in. By then, you have been hit all over and it's 'Cad, Charlie, I'm a goner for sure.'

A status box on the screen shows fuel, ammunition, active bombers and the state of your plane and the lead bomber - in the form of propellers.

It is possible to call up a map of the bomb route; this will also display how far off course you have managed to get. All action stops while viewing the map, so if you wish to take a breather, that's the thing to do.

The graphics are on the whole disappointing, the lack of colour making it rather drab. This is more than made up for by the riveting, non-stop, nerve-racking gameplay. You will be physically and mentally drained after your Deep Strike. There's no rest till Blighty has been bombed.

Get past the barrage balloons.

Sky's clear, chocks away!

P. Fast and furious non-stop action.
P. You won't stop till the fuel dump is down.
P. Excellent grid scrolling.
P. Meaty explosions.

N. Don't listen to the title tune.
N. Lack of colour.
N. Replacement hands not cheap.