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Video nasties have been hitting the headlines quite often recently and, judging by the amount of blood spilled in Forbidden Forest, 'computer nasties' will soon be making the headlines in our daily papers.

Forbidden Forest, an American game for the Commodore 64, is set in a mysterious forest. You play the part of an archer who has been sent on a quest to kill the evil ruler of the FOREST.

Armed only with a small bow and limited supply of arrows, you must fight your way past the corrupt and evil creatures under the Demogorgon's influence.

The first attack comes from the giant spiders. They rush at you unexpectedly. This is the point in the game where things get quite messy, and where the programmers have gone a little over the top on the animated blood which splatters all over the screen.

Further levels feature bumble bees, frogs, dragons and an army of skeletons. Each new type of aggressor needs different tactics to defeat them. The skeletons are particularly difficult to shoot and this level will easily prove the most taxing to would-be players.

The end of the game is reached when you come face to face with the Demogorgon. The whole sky turns black and lightning flashes all around you.

Overall, the game is fun and the graphics are reasonably clear and well animated. But the game, for all its frills, is only a plain shoot-'em-up and isn't in the same league as most American software. All in all, Forbidden Forest is a competent game, but it's definitely not game of the month material.

Forbidden Forest runs on the Commodore 64 and is available from Birmingham-based Centresoft for a price of £8.95.