So you thought speedy shoot-'em-ups were extinct on the unexpanded Vic? You thought dodos were as dead as the dodo? Wrong on both counts, because Dodo Lair shows that the strange bird is alive and well and just raring to get at you.

Controlling and playing the game are pretty simple, which is not to say that it's easy, because the screen is packed with hostile aliens who are not at all easy to dodge.

You control a 'ground-skimmer' - a rapid-firing ship which moves only vertically. Coming at you horizontally are swarms of Henpeks, Mults, B.B.s, Wallys, Radas, etc. Graphically, these are nothing special chunky blocks but they're colourful and they come thick and fast.

Obviously, you have to destroy these things. Different aliens give you varying scores. A mere Wally, for instance, will bag you only one measly point while the big red Rada gets you 200.

The ones to watch are the B.B.s, even though they only score you ten points. If these purple rascals get through to the right-hand side of the screen, your goose is cooked.

The trouble is that they often hide in a thick cluster of other creatures. At such times, judicious use of the shields is called for to force your way through the protective covering of Prongs and Poles.

Once a wave is cleared you get a crack at the Dodo, a gruesome red monstrosity which hops up and down spewing out deadly eggs.

Hit it twelve times and you progress to the next stage. And so on until you've destroyed all nine waves.

Dodo Lair is certainly not the most original thing since Manic Miner, but it has all the virtues of the good shoot-'em-up: it's noisy, fast, colourful and really quite addictive.

Well, this was certainly a whop! slam! wallop! game. Programmers seem to have got the knack of getting speedy graphics on the old Vic, but of course the memory doesn't allow for much variation in gameplay.

Still, I quite enjoyed Dodo Lair. At least there's two different attack sequences requiring different tactics. Well, perhaps tactics is too strong a word... All I did was keep my finger glued to the fire button and my eyes glued to the screen. Mindless, old-fashioned zap - no wonder Dodos are extinct.

There seem to be one or two minor bugs in this game, but this doesn't detract from its playability.

The Dodo looks more like a red inflatable duck with cold legs - but not to worry. Since the rest of the aliens are all pretty run-of-the-mill, it fits in quite well.

I was slightly annoyed by the lack of High Score table and after a while at the joystick, frustration set in and I gave the game up to a more eager reviewer. I never did get further than the first encounter with that manic Dodo!