Have no mercy, show no fear. You face overwhelming odds, but you're the right man for the experienced mercenary, a well-trained killer, it's all in a day's work for you.

So what exactly are you up against? Psychopathic gun-toting terrorists? Er, no. Drooling space fiends from Alpha Centauri? Nope, not quite. A multi-fanged demon from another dimension? Nearly, but that's not exactly right. What you're up against is far worse: creepy crawlies, vermin and all manner of household pests.

These terrifying beasties have infested every single house in the street, turning a once sleepy cul-de-sac into a place of terror. As the man from Rentokill, it's your job to clean them out and make the homes habitable again.

You won't be wearing red dungarees and wellies and spraying pesticides, though. The creatures are killed with your bare hands. In fact, that's all you see on screen - an eerie, disembodied hand that floats around following your actions.

A number of methods can be employed to kill the creatures. You can grab the airborne ones in mid air, gently squeezing the life from their tiny lungs, after which their delicate forms crumple to the floor.

Squashing them flat is the way to deal with floor-crawlers. Bring your fist down sharply, smearing their frail little bodies across the floor into a film of slimy goo. You can also zap the little critters, incinerating their flesh and turning them into molten lumps of charcoal as they flutter gently across the screen.

Watch out for the wasps, though! These jaspers have a sting in their tail and hover annoyingly around your hands. Swat thorn away to get rid of thorn. As well as tho wasps, some of the other creatures have ways of hurting you too. Mosquitos will bite you given half a chance. So it's best to grab 'em before they do. Floor-based beasties are just as bad. Frogs' tongues dart skyward, attempting to catch onto your hand. Toy tanks fire miniature explosive shells at you. And when you get hit, stung or bitten, energy is lost from your juice count. Should it run dry then it's game over. Every time you successfully squish an insect, the floor tile below it turns to your colour. Complete a row of these tiles and you move onto the next infested room in the house.

There are a fair few actions to accommodate on the joystick, and a surprisingly good job has been done. Pressing Fire grabs, Fire and down stomps, waggling waves away wasps, and pressing Fire when at the edge of the screen zaps. This system is intuitive; it's picked up easily on the first play.

Crushing creatures is great fun on your own, but get a second player to join in the fun and it's even better. Here you can work as a team to kill off the advancing animals, or can play against one another by nicking each other's tiles.

What an original game! Exterminator may be an arcade licence, but it's from a machine that's way off the beaten track of ninjas and space fighters. Killing has never been so much fun!

Completely clear the first house.

Graphics 77% A bit on the blocky side, but vermin never looked so cute!

Sonics 90% Haunting soundtrack that makes the perfect accompaniment.

Grab Factor 85% Grisly theme gives the game instant appeal!

Staying Power 80% The further you get, the more wildly the creatures differ.

Overall 83% Exterminator is a brilliantly original arcade licence, and fun to play too!

Adam Waring