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Will you please bid a warm welcome to son of Commando, Green Beret? This was Konami's arcade answer to Capcom's all-conquering Commando coin-slot game - and it's destined to get all your warlike gamesters foaming at the mouth!

Green Beret is a mixture of Commando and Rambo. Instead of horizontally scrolling play area, this one scrolls left to right. Like Commando you have to fight off the enemy - and there are masses of them - while attempting to release your captured buddies.

Like Rambo you can collect extra armaments along the way by killing off the enemy commanders. And you'll need them - all you get to start with is a simple knife. These weapons are a flame thrower - found on the first of the four stages - grenades, and a rocket launcher. These have limited powers so use them wisely. For example, you only get three shots with the flamethrower, so it's best to wait until you are in a really tight spot before using it.

Unlike either Rambo or Commando, your Green Beret man can jump and climb and throw himself on the ground to avoid the enemy. Platforms and ladders abound to help him - but you'll have to move fast as the enemy troops are always on your tail.

You have to advance Green Beret man through four enemy defence stages. It begins with the missile base, the harbour, the bridge and finally the prison camp where your buddies are waiting to be freed.

At the end of each stage the enemy throws everything they have at you - with stuff like helicopters coming in from the air to cause you even more problems. That's why it's a good idea to hang onto the extra firepower until the end!

Some troops will fire at you - but their bullets move so slowly that it's pretty easy to leap over them. The bullets are about the only thing that do move slowly. The rest of the game is really fast - a real challenge to joystick-bashers and ace gamesters everywhere.

A few gripes. You have to use the keyboard to fire the extra weapon when you've got it - the joystick fire-button only controls your knife.

The graphic backgrounds are good - especially on the Spectrum. The Spectrum Green Beret and enemy troops are drawn in black and white cartoon styles but are extremely well animated. The C64 version features full-colour "filled-in" characters, as you'd expect, and better sound. Although the Spectrum sound effects aren't bad.

Green Beret continues the warlike theme of Commando/Rambo - and if you like this style of game you'll enjoy Green Beret. It's fast, furious and terribly addictive. Shoot-'em-up fans should apply for their call up papers today!