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This American import is based on a game that used to be quite popular in the arcades. I can't remember its name, and if this version is anything to go by, that doesn't really surprise me.

You manoeuvre your laser-equipped Space Scorpion around the perimeter of a large rectangle. Some very unexciting graphics shapes then trail out from the centre of the screen, creating a vague 3D effect. You must blast them before they reach the perimeter.

If you fail to hit them in time, they will return to the centre of the screen, leaving a gap in the perimeter behind them. Moving your scorpion over this gap will send it hurtling to its doom.

As you rush around the edge blasting away, red and green squares also move back and forth along the perimeter. Bumping into the red square costs you a life, bumping into the green square provides you with a shield against both the red square and any gap which otherwise you might fall into.

One novel feature is that bonus scorpions are awarded according to the accuracy of your fire rather than the size of your score.

So why does this game fail to excite much enthusiasm? Because it's repetitive and fails to present much of a challenge. The graphics might be OK on a Spectrum, but on the C64, they're pathetic. The only good thing about the game is the sound.