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In 1905 Einstein formulated his first special theory of relativity. When, in 1912, he fol-lowed this up with a law of photochemical equivalence, the scientific establishment was rocked to its foundations. Einstein had begun a process that eventually would lead to quantum physics, nuclear war... and E-Motion.

Of the three, E-Motion wins hands down. You don't need a degree to understand it and the neighbourhood doesn't glow in the dark afterwards. Besides, it's fun! Frustrating and pretty, it's a 'New Age' computer game that will have you staring goggle-eyed at the screen for months to come.

E-Motion is an adventure in the world of molecule tugging and towing. You (and for max fun a mate as well) are in control of a small triangular ship (two ships if there's two of you, natch) enclosed in a circular shield. Also on screen are some rather large coloured balls. Sometimes these are tied together, sometimes you are tied to them, sometimes both ships are strapped together. No great problem, until you discover the ropes are elastic [Er, I think they might be covalent molecular bonds, actually - Ed]. Stretchy rubber things, they allow travel just so far before they fling you off in the opposite direction. The second little - well, major, actually - stumbling block is the wrap-around screen. If you stray off the bottom off the screen, you reappear at the top with thrusters firing, a taut rubber rope to contend with and disaster looming.

The aim of this rather odd game is to force spheres of similar colours to collide, making them disappear. If two different colours touch they produce a smaller sphere of a third colour. This small sphere can either be collected immediately - giving you energy - or left to grow into a full sized ball in its own right. After a set period of time, the full-sized balls start to pulse, warning that if you don't trash them soon, they'll explode, stripping you of exceptionally valuable energy, and possibly (probably) wiping you out altogether.

So the priorities vary. You either try to destroy the balls before they explode, or have a go at collecting energy from mis-matched collisions, hoping to get beefy enough to survive the next explosion. Alternatively, you may just go for chaos and watch all the pretty balls explode in a cascade of colour. Fatal, but fun.

That - in a cold, logical, empirical, physics sort of way - is it. The two players just try to clear - or survive - a succession of screens, progressing to ever harder levels. But, contained within this simple concept is some really nifty gameplay. Subtlety is the key. There's exceptionally little friction in the E-Motion void, so thrusters have to be used with extreme caution. To get a sphere moving you need to give it a healthy nudge, but once it's off there ain't no stopping it.

Cries of anguish are your only recourse as the best laid plans of molecules and men are sent awry by a freak collisions.

To make matters worse, there's something Uncle Albert wasn't let-ting on about when he went into detail about sub-atomic structure. Somebody's been there before, and they littered the place with metallic shapes specifically to wind up the E-Motional. Bars, squares and tubes separate balls that are begging for a quick collision. So any would-be winner has to start using the wrap-around just to get their balls to touch [OK, that's enough sniggering - Ed].

Throw in a few rubbery ropes holding the spheres to the frames and there's pain in the head just waiting to happen. Add the confusion of two players going after the same spheres and hordes of small energy balls bouncing all around the shop, and the resultant chaos is magic, pure magic.

The real secret of E-Motion's success is its fabulous two-player mode. The score gained for collecting energy, touching spheres and finishing levels is shared! None of this "I got more than you!" trash. To survive you've got to work together with a coherent plan - which is where so many promising E-Motion games start falling apart. Its amazing how two ships flying directly towards each other can hit the same object and send it hurtling in the one direction that spells doom, so often!

Graphically, the game itself couldn't be simpler. The ships are little more than triangles, the spheres just... well, just balls of different sizes and colour. The ropes are simple lines and the metallic frames are the only arty bits around. This is its charm. Minimalist graphics do have their place and it's here. Once a sphere has accidentally been hit and split the game gets confusing enough with ships, ropes and balls all over the place. Too many tarty pics would have made it unplayable. On the downside, once vast numbers of balls have been created, a slow-down is noticeable. The ships no longer fly so much as chug. Technically a bad point, it actually increases the tension as the moving gets more laboured, the time shorter and players more desperate.

As you'd expect with a game that features sub-atomic particles, it ain't exactly symphony city - what noise do pi-meson's make anyway? There's a suitably weird intro tune and few 'boings' during play. Once the game gets under way, though, it's hard to remember if there's any sound, you're too deep in concentration merely trying to stay alive.

Play E-Motion for too long and the head throbs. Play it badly and you'll scream. Sit down for a game when you're in tune and the results are astounding. Balls will collide where and when you wish; impossible situations are simply solved. Somehow, things begin to exhibit a certain rightness that makes all the effort seem worthwhile.

If E-Motion marks the dawning of a New Age of games then it's a welcome change. It doesn't relax you in the way it claims on the box. but who plays games to chill out? That's what the TV's for, not your CPC. Games should challenge the wit and dexterity of the player, and you'll never face a harder challenge than level 50 of E-Motion. You won't have learned anything useful about quantum physics, but who cares?

Thrust fans will love it - all those old techniques come flooding back. Two-player mode is the best feature, though. If only because you can't stop bawling instructions at each other! Los Alamos was never like this...

Reach Level 7

Hard going in green.

Graphics 66%
P. Clear and simple graphics.
N. Nothing special to look at.

Sonics 57%
P. Relaxing tune at the start.
N. Nothing special to hear.

Grab Factor 93%
P. Instantaneous, spontaneous, addictive power.
P. Something very special to play.

Staying Power 94%
P. 50 mind-bending levels.
P. Simply unique.

Overall 92%
P. E-Motion is A-Mazing.