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The Amiga. A hoary old disc-based lump of beige with a few good games on it. In between excruciatingly long loading pauses, enough RPGs to make Bilbo Baggins jack it all in, and more crashes than Barry Sheene, the odd game did shine through.

Of the millions released, Rainbow Islands, Speedball II and Kick Off were of particular note, but equally hot was a completely original blaster released by Sales Curve (you know, the guys who became Storm, Windy and eventually SCI) called Swiv. A vertical blaster, it was famed because a) it was pretty good, b) because it loaded as it went along, meaning there was no annoying waiting around.

However, as the Megadrie doesn't load at all. Ever. What novelty value can it offer us hard to please Sega types in order to beat off fierce competition from the blasters already out? Well, read on and you'll see. Lazy sods.

"Power-Ups, Power-Ups, wherefore art thou, Power-Ups?" Well, actually, they're hidden in a variety of places. Most conspicuous of the bunch are the large protective bubbles which are found within glowing canisters. These surround the player's craft and make them temporarily invincible, but also serve a secondary purpose - because if you choose to shoot them rather than wearing one, they white out the screen in a 'Smart Bomb' flash. Yer basic craft is also armed with three weapon types at the beginning of the game, but the yellow cylinders which punctuate each stage contain a series of power-ups for each (adding three-way-fire, etc), and homing missiles which are released using the C button.

Swiv came about because years ago SCI had handled a conversion of the Silkworm coin-op for Virgin. The resultant conversion was really cool for the time, and ideas were hatched for a sequel.

However, SCI couldn't get hold of the rights, so they started work on a game which was different enough not to infringe copyright, but also retained some of Silkworm's better ideas. Thus, although Silkworm was a horizontally-scrolling blast with loads of power-ups, Swiv became a vertical scroller with the same power-ups but a few more added for good measure.

Similarly, unable to call the game Silkwork II, they skipped two sequels and opted for Swiv - an acronym of Silkworm IV! The basic idea behind Swiv is that an unnamed alien menace has invaded Earth, and has laid fortresses and enemy squadrons all over the place.

Jumping into either a jeep or a helicopter, the player must blast a path to the final boss. However, each of the vehicles has its advantages and drawbacks, making for a slight strategic bent to the action. But only a slight one.

Crikey, this is a blast from the past! Mega SWIV takes me back to my days when I worked on an Amiga mag, and the days when a frill-less shoot-'em-up could wow the gaming fraternity. We've come a long way since then, and the well overdue Mega SWIV just doesn't impress like it used to - mind you, a lot of this can be put down to the fact that this isn't half as good as the Amiga original!

The once elegant sprites haev been replaced by chunkier, lard-ass versions which stroll across the screen as they blast away at the flickering alien hordes.

Similarly, the weapon upgrade system isn't half as simple as it used to be and unless you have the right gun at the right time, things gets stupidly limiting. Mega SWIV dates back to the days of "meat 'n potato" blasters - sadly, we're all used to cordon blue ones like Red Zone and Probotector, these days.

There are a few plus points (good boss design and lots to shoot) but this never even comes close to impressing. Oh year, and don't play as the jeep - it's utter crap!

Steve talks about frill-less, to that I would add thrill-less. Playing Swiv is about as stimulating as double Algebra on a late Friday afternoon. Swiv is a relic of past gaming days, with simple scrolling action, and a limited amount of levels (Compensated for by over-difficult gameplay).

The graphics are dull (most of the conflict seems to take place over Emmerdale) and the sound lacks any of the explosive oomph of a top-quality blaster. Basically, one to avoid.

A long overdue conversion of a classic Amiga game.

Shoot things with your lasers and doj aylien bullets.

Graphics 69%
P. Erm, there's a lot of them...
N. Sadly, the sprites tend to flicker and everything is mud-coloured.

Sound 72%
P. Booms, blasts and adequate effects.
N. Hardly the most imaginative music.

Playability 74%
P. You know what you're in for and this is a very solid, basic blaster.
N. The jeep is awful to control and the 'chopper a little sluggish.

Lastability 67%
P. Plenty of levels and inventive bosses.
N. Frustration at the often unnecessary loss of life is annoying.

Value For Money 52%
N. Nah, sorry, this is dated and overpriced.

Overall 66%
Whilst filling most shoot-'em-up quotas, this looks and plays like a recently dug up fossil. An odd choice for release.