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Once upon a time, there was a game called Defender. This was an all action zapping game and people flipped over it. Then, along came an intrepid hero who took the idea, improved it by 100070 and called it Drop Zone.

The idea is to collect a number of pod-shaped objects scattered about the surface of a planet and stow them in a protective hopper. Your efforts are opposed by sundry nasties intent upon getting you. The main mob, Planters, creep around searching for pods. If they find one, they drop an Andoid which will destroy the pod. Having dropped an Android, the Planter mutates into a nastier form. There are a handful of other nasties with differing tactics which also try to get you. These appear at different levels and include acid rain clouds and erupting volcanoes.

You control a man with a jet pack and are armed with a rapid-fire gun. With this, you must shoot everything in sight. Clear a screen and it's onto the next, nastier level. To help you in your task you have a protective cloak and some smart bombs.

The graphics are superb, with a highly detailed multicolour landscape. The scrolling and movement is smooth and many of the effects are similar to those in Defender. The most impressive effect comes when you loose a life.

If you like slick, high action zapping games, you'll love this. It's a real corker even if it's a little pricey.

A.W.