Mop the perspiration from your brow as you pull down the periscope. Scan the horizon for enemy ships. They know you're down there. They know you're vulnerable. And they're waiting for you. You scan the faces of your crew for inspiration - all you see is despair, confusion and the desperate desire to find a way out of your underwater hell. Sweat drips off the walls of your submerged steel tomb and claustrophobia lurks in every dank shadow as you agonise over your decision. Should you lead the hunt, or sit it out and face the wrath of your mutinous crew and inner demons? There are the harsh decisions of naval command, and the grim reality of submarine warfare.

Well, you can forget all that for a start. Imagine the Yellow Submarine strayed into Crimson Tide. And the two subs decided to see who was hardest. The coin-op classic In The Hunt used an explosive underwater setting as an inevntiev way if spinning another trick on that most enduring game scenario - the destroy everything in sight shoot-'em-up. And it's been faithfully recreated here, pixel by pixel.

A coin-op fave from days of yore, faithfully translated to Saturn.

Armed with depth charges, torpedos and rockets, devastate the undersea, underwater, and overhead opposition.

As if demolishing buildings, depth charging other subs and tackling ancient demon gods wasn't hard enough, there are a load of bosses to wipe out as well.

1. South Pole
   Keep out of the way of this one's tangly tentacles. Shoot the ends of them, however, and you'll be well on the way to nobbling him.
2. Channel
   You're unlikely to come across any of these next time you're driving to Paris. Dodge his downward rays and shoot his underside.
3. Seabed Ruins
   Not content with pummelling up through the ground and forcing you into the ceiling of his temple, this guy later mutates into an undersea Freddy Kreuger. He's mad as hell.
4. Sunken Town
   The end of level four finds you in the clutches of these two subs. Avoid getting caught in the whirlpools their rotating noses create - it's a nightmare trying to break free.
5. Deep Dark Sea
   The fifth level's lava caves culminate in this multi-headed silver dragon which gobs fireballs at you. Quite how he manages this underwater is a mystery, but he's not worth arguing with.
6. Enemy Base
   The boss on this, the final level, is a vast multi-sectioned rocket that dumps all manner of unpleasant explosive devices on you as each of its sections splits off ahead of you.

The pidgin English which adorns in The Hunt's inlay booklet offers a valuable insight into the game's origins and aspirations: "Kareidaisensou is great famous shooting-game. Submarine break thrugh monstre and darkness. And at last looking up shining front of the sea." So there you have it. Next time you find yourself looking up any shining fronts you'll know what to do.

Danger lurks around every corner in the murky depths, but help is at hand too. The following power-ups can make all the difference, transforming your firepower from a 'fart in the bath' experience to something devastating. Not that farting in the bath is anything to underestimate...

1. Power Up
2. Floating Mines
3. Heat-Seeking Missiles
4. Super-Powered Torpedo

OK, OK, I know this is another horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up. I know your craft looks a bit like the Yellow Submarine. And I know this isn't exactly state-of-the-art. And I don't care. Every Saturn owner should possess a game like this, and in my opinion this frenzied torpedo-fest has all the ingredients to set it above the competition in this field.

The graphics are highly detailed, the level structures are imaginative, there is a wide variety of weaponry and power-ups, and however frenzied and unintelligible things seem to get on screen you never quite lose your sense of direction.

Just keep on plugging away and you'll break on through the monstre and darkness. It's only really let down by a slow access time as bosses are loaded up. Elsewhere, on the 'underwater skyscraper' level, some of the building sprites seem a bit 'disconnected'. Aside from these minor gripes, which go unnoticed when you're being bombed, depth charged and crushed from all directions.

In The Hunt does the business. My vote for the Empty Retro Thrill Award of the year.

I have to disagree with Marcus on this one. I got absolutely no enjoyment from playing this at all. Despite some detailed sections on the graphics front, the slow down, especially when you are approaching the bosses, is terrible and I didn't expect to see it on a game like this.

Why is so much on-screen action included if the game can't deal with it? Sorry but it's only good enough to warrant the Dust Collecting game In The Craggy Corner Of The Game Shop award.

Graphics 78%
P. Everything from individual bricks to whole buildings go flying around the screen in impressive detail.
N. Larger sprites can sometimes seem a bit 'disconnected'.

Animation 71%
P. The bubble trails left in the wake of depth charges and torpedoes are impressive.
N. Everything does slow up a bit when it gets busy!

Music 72%
P. Strident naval anthems accompany your undersea missions.

Effects 74%
P. Serviceablve arcade-style crunchy echoes when enemy subs (or you) explode.

Playability 83%
P. Resist all attempts at strategy and just keep hitting the Fire button. This is mindless, but engrossing.

Lastability 74%
N. Six levels aren't going to prove much of a long term challenge to the seasoned shoot-'em-up addict. The Pal version will need to have the 'infinite continues' option knocked out.

Overall 81%
Every collection needs a game like this, and this is a quality conversion of a top notch shoot-'em-up.