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Those of you who own a 16-bit machine and have spent the last year decrying the lack of a good shoot-'em-up are about to be silenced for good - as Gainstar's import of this ace Discovery blaster is all set to melt your screens in a veritable explosion of scrolling mayhem.

So what's so special about this one? Especially as it makes absolutely no claims about 'stretching the machine's capabilities' or providing 'blasting action with a subtle twist'. The answer lies in the playability, which has been pitched to the point of perfection and has had everyone who's played the game in the office hooked from the first attempt.

After you've chosen to be either commander Maverick or Lovett (this makes no difference to the gameplay, but in case you're interested Lovett's a member of the fairer sex) your ship is launched onto a semi-tropical landscape.

At this point, two things happen: a pulsating soundtrack bursts into life and you're immediately set upon by the first of many flying and shooting aliens, backed up by ground-based weapons installations.

Although there are only three levels to be negotiated (the second is watery and the third appears to take place above the internal organs of some massive monster), they're all quite long and take some time to complete... but not if you stick with the standard weapons system.

Weapon upgrades appear at regular intervals in the form of numbered icons (wait for it - one to five) and when the complete set has been gathered up, your ship will be as close as it's possible to get to indestructible.

Good and all as the extra weapons are, they can be improved further by a neat little trick: simply spin the joystick rapidly and the weapon 'expands' to reveal even more destructive powers. Three expansions are allowed per weapon, and if you've forgotten how many times you've already used this trick there are three 'E' icons at the top of the screen to remind you.

Because the action is so hot, you'd be forgiven if the presentation was a little naff - but it's far from it. There's an impressive high score table, a rolling demo (including self portraits by the programmers?) and an options screen which allows almost all of the games parameters to be altered. This last item can be abused however and can make the game far too easy if taken to extremes.

The only really naff thing that I could find was the occasional appearance of totally unsuitable sprites (such as the banana's that can be collected for a bonus of 5,000 points), but that's such a minor detail that I'm almost sorry I mentioned it. Hybrid is quite simply the answer to the 16-bit shoot-'em-up fans' prayers.