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Ooh, bit of a touchy one this. Do you remember waaaay back in Issue 42, when we had this amazing shoot-'em-up in for review? Well, we thought that it was so brilliant that we'd give it a Sizzler and stick a demo cassette on the cover. Six months of egg on our face later and the Katakis Phoenix rises from the ashes - US Gold unveil Denaris, a shoot-'em-up with progressive weapons, add-on guns and stuff.

Oh yes - the game...

Your objective is to fly your fighter craft into a series of enemy installations and defeat the guardian that sits in front of the warp to the next sector. You start off with a single laser and a number of back-up craft, but as you play you can collect extra weapon pods (left behind by certain enemies) to help you on your way.

Well, the original Karakis review is a talking point if nothing else! Us innocent software reviewers just saying what we thought of a really good shoot-'em-up and trying to be generous and give our loyal readers a present - and what happens?

We land up to our necks in... er... trouble. Luckily, things were sorted out and we can look at the now revamped Denaris with hindsight and see what we thing.

The two versions are in fact completely different - all they've got in common really is the shooting and the extra weapons bit. Personally, I prefer the C64 version. Its gameplay presents more of a challenge than the Amiga and the graphics and sound are just as good (within the machine's limitations). If you get the chance, have a go. You won't regret it, Dennis.

I didn't review this the last time round even though I did play the game, so I missed out on all the aggro.

Now that I've come to review Denaris, I can see that the Amiga version has been changed a lot. The C64 version has undergone a number of cosmetic changes, enough to satisfy everyone that it isn't a blatant R-Type clone, but it's managed to keep all the playability of the original.

I reckon that the C64 version is the better of the two, basically due to the variety of the graphics, sound and tactics for each level - the Amiga version could do with a tad more.

It's still an enjoyable game though - "essential viewing for fans of the genre", as they say... well, they do at the Funny Farm where I come from.

Presentation 52%
Average intro and a score table, but not much else.

Graphics 79%
Very nice sprites, but the backgrounds are rather 'bitty' and colourless.

Sound 90%
Great music, speech and sound effects push the pace along nicely.

Hookability 87%
Good, honest, blasting fun from the first play.

Lastability 81%
Varied enough levels, but it's a little on the easy side.

Overall 88%
A good shoot-'em-up which doesn't quite reach the top-notch quality of the C64 version.