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Infiltrator must have the most amusing and readable instructions in the history of computer games. A joke a minute, and well worth reading all the way through.

This is the game that 64 owners have been talking about all summer long and boring the pants off gamesters who own a different machine. Now Chris Gray's action adventure is out for the Spectrum and Amstrad, and a pretty good conversion it is too.

OK, the graphics might not be as impressive as the original - perhaps that's why they used the 64 screens for the packaging? But the addictive gameplay still lurks beneath the surface.

If you don't know about the game the basic idea is this: The bad Mad Leader is threatening to destroy the world. And you, in the role of Johnny McGibbets, all round good guy, have to defeat him.

Jimbo, as we've all come to call him, has at his disposal a highly sophisticated and horribly beweaponed helicopter code-named the Whizbang Gizmo DHX-1. He has to use this to carry out three very special missions in order to defeat the Mad Leader.

Each mission involves flying your Gizmo chopper through enemy defences, landing at an enemy base, infiltrating it to live up to your name and completing a task.

Mission one involves photographing enemy plans. Jimbo is equipped with a special Infiltrator kit which consists of sleeping gas, explosives, forged papers, a mine detector and a camera.

Our Jimmy dodges guards and explores the enemy base. But some guards are smarter than others and they'll raise the alarm when they spot your forged ID.

Squirt them with a bit of gas and make your getaway. Get the pictures of the plans and rush back to the Gizmo. Then it's back to base where another mission awaits.

Mission two involves rescuing Dr Phineas Gump and destroying the enemy weapons lab. In mission three you have to find and destroy the Mad Leader's ICBM launch and tracking base - this is the most important mission.

Flying is fairly easy - unless you meet another aircraft. Then you have to guess if it's a friend or an enemy and respond to its request for a computer password. INFILTRATOR for buddies or OVERLORD for baddies.

Get it wrong and boy are you in trouble. It's then that the Gizmo's missiles, flares, machine guns and other bits of hardware really come into play. Avoid enemy fire by using flares and chaff to decoy them away from your 'copter. Blast the enemy with your heat seeking missiles and shoot them down with your guns. Sounds easier than it is in practice.

Both Spectrum and Amstrad versions are fairly similar - with graphics minus the 64 frills. Sound is a bit better on the Amstrad but the playability is good on both versions.

If you've played the 64 version of the game then you'll find these versions initially unimpressive. But give Jimbo a chance and you'll be hooked. Especially if you want a game that's going to last you throughout the long winter nights.