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Invasion Force takes us forward in time compared with The General because here you command an allied assault team in WWII. First choose a difficulty level (easy, average or expert), set the control options, decode a top secret order and finally pick your task force. Hero's where you're faced with a variety of units, including paratrooper', tanks, infantry and artillery. Note that you have 15 minions to complete - the choice of the wrong unit on each could spell disaster.

One or two players can participate, with the computer replacing a friend if needs be. In one player mode you always take the part of the blue army who must follow the order given in the coded message (lose your instruction book and you're up the creek without a paddle). It is of course up to the second player (whether human or computer) controlling the red army to stop you.

Each army takes it in turn to move around. There's an initial deployment phase in which you can move your units to the best attacking/defending positions, lay demolition charges on bridges, crush innocent natives beneath the tracks of your tanks etc. Terrain must be taken into consideration when moving troops around: air support can move anywhere, but troops will obviously find il easier to move across open ground than mountains.

Whatever you decide to do Invasion Force is for dedicated souls only. Some of the missions are very long winded indeed and only seasoned strategy buffs tare advised to try them.

Nevertheless, novices will find it pretty easy to get into the early stages at the game (after a long read of the accompanying booklet of course), and if they persevere they might get hooked on strategy as an alternative to arcade action. Go to it soldier.

Mark Caswell