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The game is very much like that arcade favourite, Hunchback. The scenario and precise details are altered but the caves of the planet Thrug are certainly analagous with the dark halls of the Palace of Notre Dame.

An amusing prologue is the title page which is displayed as the second part of the program loads. As this happens, the journey from Earth to Thrug is taking place - each block of the second program represents a par-second.

When the game commences, you must guide your spacecraft, Eagle, through the tunnels of the four moons of Thrug, converving your energy whilst collecting up 'iridium pods', a mythical rare and valuable trace element (represented on screen by an unexciting full stop). Energy is lost if you collide with the walls or succumb to the various hazards which you must negotiate (e.g. asteroids, laser beams, volcanoes, etc). Each screen finishes when Eagle safely lands at the bottom of the screen.

Although I did not manage to get very far in my expeditions, I was nevertheless not too impressed by the action. The proceedings simply consisted of moving round the screen, avoiding the odd obstacle - magazine stuff (not A&B!) rather than true commercial standard. Of course, things may improve later on in the game but the obvious graphics inadequacies are unlikely to be rectified to any great extent.

This program epitomises the attitude of many software houses who believe in bringing out copious quantities of programs of a very valuable standard. This probably makes them more money in the short run but at the risk of destroying a customer's faith in commercial software. In addition to this, Salamander have previously been associated with quite decent software so this apparent decline in standards is rather sad to see.