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At first glance, Silversoft's latest Spectrum release appears to be nothing more than a hybrid of Pacman and Pengo. However, play it a few times and you realise it offers a totally new and quite entertaining challenge.

The idea is fairly simple. You play the part of a nicely-drawn spider who must travel around a randomly generated maze either collecting objects or filling in the corridor in a certain colour.

Naturally you are not alone, the maze being populated by the four obligatory nasties (thankfully not ghosts) who chase you in the usual anti-social manner.

However you can push the walls of the maze across passages, changing its shape and trapping nasties. You must be careful not to crush either them or the objects you must collect, for this loses you a life. Thus a significant strategy element is introduced, half the tactics being to trap the creatures in a small part of the maze, allowing you a clear run.

Silversoft have also apparently caught the Minter disease, for the stages have such names as 'Return of the Jelli' and 'Attack of the Mutant Chips'.

Graphically, the game is done well, with detailed backgrounds and smoothly animated characters. The sound isn't a let down either, with some quite satisfying noises being coaxed out of the Spectrum's pitiful speaker.

The spider is very easy to control and even if you don't own one of the supported joystick interfaces, the keys are sensible enough.

Overall, Hyperaction is a really rather playable game, the arcade feel being tempered by an interesting strategic element. There are a number of screens, each with randomly generated mazes, so the program's appeal should last. Nice one, Silversoft.

This is most definitely a maze game, and despite having lots of different screens and constantly changing mazes it cannot be disguised as anything else.

Not that I didn't like it, it was just extremely difficult to play, particularly the first screen.

The game is well-named since you have to think very fast under pressure.

This is an exceptionally hard game to get to grips with.

The sound is not brilliant, and another thing I didn't like was not being able to crush the nasties with the blocks. If you do so, you die. However, persevere, you'll enjoy it.

Hyperaction proves that a game doesn't need an elaborate plot to be addictive.

The clear, colourful graphics and imaginative sound effects show a polished finish to a game of blistering pace.

A very exciting and tricky game which manages to combine a need for thought with fast action and with different screens, each requiring different skills. It should push the most competent player to the limit. Excellent.