Graphics come pretty basic

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In Lode Runner, from Software Projects, it's time once again for all of you macho types to get your galactic commando uniforms on and right some wrongs.

The evil Bungelings have stolen a fortune in gold bullion and stashed it in an underground hideaway.

You alone can retrieve this stolen treasure and return it to its rightful owners.

To describe the graphics used in this ladders-and-levels game as crude would be a compliment.

On a background of red brickwork and white ladders, three blue stick men chase one white stick man.

I would expect better graphics than this in a game listed in a magazine.

You guide the white stick man around the screen collecting the gold ingots.

The little chap appears to be quite'a sturdy character, for he can leap from a ladder or drop from a horizontal rope and still survive, irrespective of how far he has fallen.

The control available are up/down, left-right, and dig. Dig can be used to trap enemy guards or even as a means of escape.

Should the bad guys be closing in on both sides, just whip out your laser drill pistol and blast a hole in the floor. You can then leap to safety in true James Bond style.

When you have collected all the ingots, a new ladder will appearand this is your exit to the next level.

There are 40 of these levels stored in memory, with a further 120 stored on side two of the cassette.

Should these be insufficient, you can use the game's in-built screen editor to create your own. These can be saved to tape and re-loaded at a later date.

The animation of the characters is smoothly done and they exhibit quite a large range of movements - though this shouldn't have provided too many problems owing to their small size. You could have probably got the same effect writing the game in Basic.

If you are looking for a ladders-and-levcls game which allows you to create your own screens, have a good look round before committing yourself to this one.

Jon Revis