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On a planet far away from their original home, the Olympic Games take a Galactic turn.

Competitors are faced with five unusual events: the 100m slither, space hockey, psychic judo, head throwing and the metamorph marathon.

In the 100m slither, racing worms speedily slide along the track, bunching their bodies in caterpillar motion. Rhythmic joystick wobbling induces the fastest motion, and occasionally a 'super slither' may be used to zoom up the course - although care must be taken not to overheat the worm.

Once the worms have been dismissed, space hockey appears on the agenda. Here, two spheres enter a giant playing field and attempt to drive a living puck into the opposition's goal.

Next is psychic judo, where two mindbenders stand at either end of a corridor and attempt to destroy each other with energy bolts squeezed from their stomachs. When an energy bolt has been released it's directed to avoid the defensive shields that the opponent erects. If the bolt gets through, points are awarded.

Head throwing follows. The competitors in this sport are a strange pair, who are obsessed with removing their heads and throwing them as far as they can. This action takes place on a small track down which competitors run. Before the foul throw line, they rip off their heads and throw them into the air. There are three throws per contest and the longest throw wins.

The last event is the metamorph marathon, during which one of five forms - runner, burrower, jumper, flyer or rest state - is adopted by the metamorph to negotiate the ever-changing terrain. The energy supply of each form is limited, so a little planning is required to finish the course.

Not content with bringing us Earthbound athletic-type games, those cheerful chappies at Activision are taking us out to the stars now to thrill to such events as the metamorph marathon, head throwing and psychic judo.

Control of most events is a touch on the finnicky side, and even when mastered I often felt that I wasn't totally in control

Graphically, Galactic Games is a bit of a mixed bag, varying from average on the 100 metre slither, to horribly naff on psychic judo. Sound is also disappointing, with a few annoying effects and no tune.

It's not exactly one of my favourite sports games, and can't be called a bargain at £10, but it's fun to play - for a while.

Galactic Games is certainly weird and wacky - but unfortunately it's also pretty dire. Control is slow and often sluggish, and added to the fact that many of the events are hard to master, I can't see many people returning to it very often. The multi-load is pretty laborious and one point that really annoys me is the 'humorous' information printout that appears periodically during the game - usually at the beginning of an event.

The first time it's funny, second time it's a little tedious, and by the third time you feel like screaming. It's slow, endless and has to be endured game after game.

Galactic Games could have been fun, but at the end of the day, I'm sad to say that it falls flat on its face, a long way short of the finishing line.

Presentation 40%
The multi-load system is a real pain, and the general presentation and control methods are poor.

Graphics 41%
Vary from below average to pathetic.

Sound 32%
Grating and annoying spot effects are used throughout.

Hookability 45%
Nearly all the events have awkward control methods, making them difficult to master.

Lastability 36%
The frustrating gameplay and lack of reward don't make for lasting appeal.

Overall 42%
A mixed bag of naff 'sports' events.