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Question: What would be an original name for a follow up to Falcon Patrol? You got it, Falcon Patrol II! Here was a chance to try out my brand new, shiny joystick with auto-fire, the sole purpose of which is to kill a lot and impress the blonde next door. Rats, out of ammo in thirty seconds, try to land for more and get creamed. Brand new shiny joystick winds up in a mangled pile by the door and the blonde passes forever from my clutches. There are times when auto-fire has serious disadvantages.

Although I'd never played the first Falcon Patrol, I'd heard good things about it, so I was quite looking forward to this one. I wasn't disappointed either, it's surprisingly addictive for such a simple game. In the words of the makers, "the enemy is about to launch its first offensive". The object of this attack is you and the means seems to consist largely of helicopters. If you want to get out there and draw a bit of blood then you've got to get the hang of the Falcon Fighter VTOL craft that comes as part of the package. This isn't as easy as it sounds; it doesn't have the same lightning responses usually expected from a pack of pixels on the end of a joystick.

Instead it responds more in the way a real VTOL would; rather slow on the turn, so in practice, if you spot an enemy chopper and decided that the other direction is a sensible place to be, before you're halfway into the turn you find yourself on a one way trip in a downward direction picking bits of chopper blade out of your teeth.

Nice graphics too, not really true 3D as stated on the pack, more a sort of side-scrolling semi-3D, but very effective nonetheless. As the game progresses the enemy start to drop ack-ack guns and radar jammers and the going gets generally more hectic until you think you've accidentally stumbled on a fire in an ammo factory.

And, now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some killing to do.