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Leviathan. What can I say about it? Is the game original in its concept? No, not really. It's pure arcade shoot-'em-up, very slick and very colourful.

Is it good? Very. In fact, it's probably English Software's best game to date. No, I'll revise that opinion. It is the best English Software game I've seen.

The mission is simple: seek and destroy enemy ships across three planet zones - Moonscape, Cityscape and Greekscape. Your ship has limited fuel and is up against the clock. Extra fuel can be collected by landing near fuel pods or blasting pods in the space sectors.

If you bought last month's C&VG you'll already know what you're up against from the maps of first two levels. They show you the terrain but not the dangers. These include cannons, flack, lightning bolts and, of course, and a whole host of flying aliens.

The game feels a little bit like Super Zaxxon, with diagonal scrolling. The Leviathan ship can fly either way but going from left to right, I found, enables you to gain a little more time when the aliens attack. It is also useful to consult the central monitor on the screen at the start of each game. This gives you a hint of what you're up against.

The Leviathan ship is equipped with unlimited missiles and three smart bombs.

The graphics are excellent. Quite what the relevance of the Greekscape is I don't know, but it's very nice to look at.

Interestingly enough, the idea for Leviathan was inspired by the video for ZZ Top's Rough Boy. Remember how their groovy car turned into an equally groovy space ship? Well that, apparently, inspired the Leviathan ship.

The ship really is a nippy little beast. It can twist and turn, flip and flop with the greatest of ease.

Some of the obstacles I found infuriatingly difficult to overcome. The great thing is that if you come across some really mean and nasty-looking bit of the game you can turn round and fly back the way you came, hopefully travelling full circle and sneaking up behind the tricky bit.

The enemy ships come in all shapes, sizes and varying degrees of nastiness. To successfully complete the zone you must destroy all the enemy.

Leviathan ranks high in the first division of space shoot-'em-ups.