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Dig Dug was a really popular arcade game - and now Atari have converted it for the VCS it's going to be just as popular among home video gamesters!

Atari's latest release for their 2600 system brings all the thrills of the arcade game into your front room.

Personally I've always felt that the man who invented a game which involves sticking an airline into a defenceless creature and then blowing it up until it explodes was a prime case for the League Against Cruelty to Aliens - but whatever turns you on I suppose!

For those of you who haven't seen Dig Dug in your local arcade, here's the general idea. You take the part of Dig Dug a super-gardener who burrows underneath his vegetable patch to stop the nasty meanies getting to the surface and eating his prize veggies.

These meanies are the balloon-like Pookas and a sort of mini-dragon creation called Fygar. Fygars can breathe fire and are an added underground hazard.

You guide Dig Dug through the earth beneath his garden chasing the meanies - which can be found in underground caverns. The meanies also have the ability to transform themselves into ghost-like forms, moving at will through the earth and ganging up to chase poor old Dig Dug.

Dig is armed with an airpump with which he can either just stun or destroy the meanies by blowing them up with they explode. Nasty!

He can also lead the meanies under strategically placed rocks. Once he's dug a tunnel under them, they fall - crushing whatever is stupid enough to stand underneath it. Dig included if he's not quick enough.

This VCS version of the game includes a beginners' level which gives new players a chance to get to grips with the game before braving the dangers of the game proper.

You earn points for the number of meanies you kill off and for how much earth you dig in your underground adventures. Once you've cleared one screen of meanies, you move onto the next with more of the nasty little creatures to deal with.

You get four lives to start with - and lose them if you get caught by a meanie or crushed by one of your own rocks. You can earn bonus points by picking up the fruits which appear, Pac-Man-style in the centre of the screen.

Dig Dug is going to prove popular with maze game fans everywhere. It's available now at a rather pricey £29.99. Oh yes, there's also a nice arcade-style opening intro screen too!