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Incentive have spent over a year and a lot of money developing a programming technique called "Freescape". This is the first game to use the technique, which allows the creation of solid 3D landscapes which you can move around and into, just as you would in the real world. It's a mightily impressive creation that packs more into an 8-bit micro than was ever thought possible, but have they produced an equally magnificent game?

The packaging for Driller is as comprehensive as that of Elite, including a novella giving the background story. The story is rather long but isn't essential if you don't want to read it. Mitral and Tricuspid are moons of the planet Evath. Mitral has been mined by a technologically backward group of outcasts called the Ketars. As a result, a vast amount of gas has built up beneath the surface of the moon. If Mitral were to explode, then Evath would be blasted out of orbit. In order to save Evath, the gas must be released from Mitral by tapping it off with drilling rigs.

The screen display is split into two main areas: the view through the window of your craft and the control panel. The control panel shows you which sector you are in and whether or not it has been cleared of gas. It also shows the status of your shields and energy. Other instruments indicate the position and orientation of the craft.

Mitral is made up of eighteen sectors and each of these must be cleared of gas by placing a rig over the main gas pocket. Finding the position of the rig is easy with the first sector since it is marked with a large black cross. The remaining seventeen are more difficult - but there are puzzles to solve in each that should lead you to the correct location. You only need to tap off 50% of the gas to make a sector safe, but you get a better score if you tap off more. The rigs are kept on Evath and are teleported down to Mitral wnen you send for one. They can be recalled if the position of the rig is not good enough, but sending for a rig or sending it back costs you valuable energy. This effectively prevents the trial and error method of finding the gas pocket. Energy crystals can be found to replenish your ship.

Your craft has shields which are depleted when you're shot by the automatic defences. Shields can be regenerated by another type of crystal. If your shields are destroyed or you run out of energy then you will die. Falling too far will also destroy you.

In most sectors, there are objects that you can use to overcome hazards. Obsidian has a crevasse which will end the game for you if you fall in it. A bridge can be created with the use of a nearby object and you can then cross the crevasse. Another example is that, in Amethyst, there is a secret exit which you can open and close to allow access to other parts of the moon.

The automatic defences must be dealt with in different ways. Some can be shot to destroy them and others must be turned around or crushed with parts of the scenery. You'll have to do a lot of experimenting to discover the secrets of each area, and there's a large degree of puzzling involved locating the drilling sites.

The excavation probe can be for a reconnaissance jet by docking with it in a hangar in the Aquamarine sector. Once inside the jet, you can fly around Mitral and have a bird's eye view of it. Some areas are easier to get to in the jet because you can fly over hazards. Drilling rigs can't be sent for when you are in the jet, so you must return to the hangar to enter the probe again when you want to release the gas.

I doubt that this will be the last game to feature Freescape because of all the development that went into it. The technique is fast considering the amount of memory that is being moved on screen at any one time. Colour is used well to give shading and make the outline of objects easily distinguishable. Sound is not the major feature of this game since most of the work has been put into the graphics, but it is adequate. You can congratulate Steve Webb from Cardiff for what effects there are, because he was the winner of our competition to provide sound effects for the game.

Mitral is a big place and tapping off the gas in all 18 sectors within the time limit will keep you occupied for a very long time. The problems are devious and often interconnected. The game is expensive but it does come with a novella and 3D mapping model. This is a unique feature because the map is a 3D structure itself, which you have to fill in as you go along.

It's difficult to fully appreciate a game of this originality and quality just from a review and screenshots. The sequence of screenshots gives an idea of the real environment you can move in. Being able to move under, over, around and into solid 3D objects is a revelation in itself. When it's combined with good use of colour, wicked puzzles and a beautifully thought-out game, it's a work of genius. This is the game you have to have this Christmas, even at the unpleasantly high price. I hope they manage to keep the variety going with future games using Freescape.

Mitral is as easy to explore in green as it is in colour.

Clear five sectors of gas.

Graphics 94%
P. The landscape can be viewed from all possible angles.
P. Superb use of shading and colour.

Sonics 45%
P. Spot effects by Steve Webb.
N. No memory left for music

Grab Factor 92%
P. Exploration of Mitral from all angles helps to solve the problems
P. Lots of variation in ways to solve the problems.

Staying Power 97%
P. With 18 sectors to make safe you will be playing for a long time.
P. The puzzles can be complex and difficult to crack.

Overall 96%
Original and innovative gameplay that deserves financial and critical success.