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It's not often that the release of a computer is a big enough story to warrant giving it a couple of minutes of airtime on ITN's News At Ten.

The added ingredient that caused the interest in Gremlin Graphics' Monty Mole was the inclusion of a famous headline maker in the starring role - namely the president of the NUM, Arthur Scargill.

The scene is set deep down a coal mine in South Yorkshire. You play the part of Monty Mole, a spy who has been hired to infiltrate Scargill's underground fortress and wreck the secret ballot by stealing all the voting slips.

The graphics representation of the characters is good and overall the screen effects are very pleasant. The colours used also make it easy to see what you are doing - a fact often overlooked by a lot of software houses and their programmers!

But, to be honest, the game offers very little that is new. Monty Mole is just an amalgamation of Manic Miner and Bug Byte's Antics and The Birds And The Bees.

Climbing games packed with ladders, ramps and conveyor belts are very old hat. And I'm sure there are very few people who would disagree - even Gremlin Graphics themselves.

This is not a wholesale criticism of the game's worth or playability, but I could not justify recommending Monty Mole to the readership of this magazine, knowing that this review could prompt owners of either Manic Miner or Antics to buy the game.