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Hurrah! At last we've got the YS SAM up and running (it took cannibalised parts from two Coupes to do it!) which means we've been able to take a (belated) look at Enigma's Defenders Of The Earth, the first, and so far only, arcade game to take full advantage of the machine's rather stunning graphical capabilities.

(To be honest, this is hardly a 'first look' - we've had our copy of SAM Defenders lying around the office for ages waiting for a functional Coupe - but it's worth a gander nonetheless. After all, most of us have never properly seen what the Coupe is really capable of as a games machine).

So what's it like, well, looks-wise, as you'd expect, it's excellent. The graphics are considerably more subtle and less blocky than the best that the Amstrad CPC (the most colourful of the 8-bits) is capable of, though (hand on heart) it isn't really up to current 16-bit standards, it's not as far ff as all that though (try imagining a budget Atari ST game) and who knows what could be done (or should that read 'could have been done'?) with the Coupe in time. It's also fast - a lot faster than other versions of the game I've played, which doesn't help matters for a devout Mr. Crap like myself.

All versions of Defenders Of The Earth were tricky, but this one is ludicrously hard, with many of the opponents almost impossible to dodge, and the speed with which the SAM whizzes everything around the screen is a major reason why. (If you want to know more about the actual gameplay - a rather simplistic shoot-'em-up based on a Saturday morning TV show - check out the Speccy version review in YS 54.)

And so, to sum up. There're just two points to make really. For a start, well done, Enigma, for both supporting the Coupe and coming up with such a visually stunning demonstration of what it can achieve. I still think the actual game itself is a pretty average one really, but I'm going to bung the SAM version much higher than the Speccy one got simply because (a) there's nothing to compare it with and (b) you bothered getting off your butts and doing it.

If you want a copy and can't find it in the shops, send a cheque for £11.99 cass/£14.99 disk to Enigma Variations, 12 Northpark Road, Harrogate HG1 5PD. (And look out for other SAM things from them - apparently a pack of SAM-specific puzzle games is available now too.)

The other point is a pretty obvious one, but I'm going to say it anyway. It's a real shame what's happened to the Coupe, but until I saw this game I hadn't quite realised how much of a shame. Let's just hope something can be salvaged, eh?

The first 'proper' SAM game and it's stunning. Perhaps lacking in long-term appeal though.