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Harrier Attack has been around for quite a while now on the Spectrum but the Commodore version has added features and offers some exciting gameplay.

The game is similar in concept to Virgin's Falcon Patrol, but the game starts as you take off from an aircraft carrier in mid-Atlantic and head for shore. Your mission is to avoid the enemy defences, reach their base, and destroy it. You must then return to your ship.

You're up against flak, anti-aircraft guns, guided missiles and, at the higher levels, other aircraft. Your armament includes bombs and bullets, but supplies of both are limited. You must also keep an eye on your fuel, which may not get you there and back again unless you fly at a sensible speed.

The scenery scrolls smoothly past as you fly over undulating hills punctuated with inviting targets which you can either bomb or blast with your guns. The trickiest opponents are the guided missiles, but once you've developed appropriate tactics to deal with them then level 1 shouldn't present too much of a problem.

That still leaves levels 2 to 5, however. The enemy's firepower becomes increasingly effective. The missiles get faster and faster, and worst of all you're liable to bump into a hostile jet who can move a lot faster than you can and is pretty nifty on the fire button as well.

The graphics in Harrier Attack have some nice touches and when you about-turn in mid-air, the plane dips its wings convincingly. The action is fast enough and, at the higher levels, the game presents a real challenge.