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Sniggin, the well-known space pirate, has hidden a nuclear device on a large four-decked spacecraft. And only 20 minutes remain before it goes off with a bigger bang than a yuppie stockbroker.

You are charged with the awesome task of finding this ominous contraption and rendering it harmless - by locating four digits on the ship in the right order and entering them as a code into the device. It's then deactivated.

There are 128 flick screens, patterned with a maze of corridors shown from above. Progressing deeper into this complicated system earns you points - but it's patrolled by a gaggle of robots left by the villainous space pirate to safeguard his nastiness. Don't pause for too long in one place to consider your next move, or a deadly homing bomb will seek you out with lethal accuracy and destroy all your remaining lives. And it takes quick thinking to avoid this killer.

For protection you need a laser weapon, but you'll have to find it first - and it won't destroy every robot.

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: good throughout the 128 screens: monochromatic play area
Sound: spot FX of the worst kind

'The trouble with Mayhem is that the game itself has been lost in the slick presentation. The instructions are displayed as a screen-high smooth-scrolling message - shame you can't read it - and the front end is neat. The graphics are also above-average, with well-animated characters and good (though sparse) backgrounds. None of this really hides the dull gameplay, though, and Mayhem has no lasting appeal.'

'The graphics are poorly-defined and unattractive, colour is used badly in the status area, there's no title tune and the spot FX are insipid. I can't recommend this.'

'Mayhem has the graphical presentation of a successful game, but it's spoiled by boring gameplay and story line. It's easy to pick up, and easy to leave; the atmosphere is very shallow.'