WE'D RATHER EAT SLU

After a biological holocaust, food is in short supply. So mad scientist Dr A Noid invents Slu - the ultimate junk food, addictive and very bad for you. But, unlike in real life, Dr A Noid is not rewarded by a chain of fast food restaurants, instead he is to be assassinated by you!

Driving your All Terrain Vehicle around three towns, you can drive into buildings and explore them on foot, collecting useful objects and avoiding mutants. Collected food parcels can be swapped at gas stations for weapons, ammunition and fuel.

An entry pass must also be found to enter the Arena, a circuit high above the ground. Here, the idea is to ram other cars over the edge while avoiding a similar fate. Surviving takes you to the next town. At the end of the third Arena, you may finally take on Dr A Noid himself.

Sounds interesting? Well, it is my unfortunate duty to inform you that Motor Massacre is an awful game. 'The main problem is the infuriating multiload when your sole life is lost, a whole section must be reloaded. Graphics are simplistic and blocky, while the hero walks as if battling against a hurricane! Gremlin have produced some good games in their time; sadly this is isn't one of them.

MARK ... 31%

THE ESSENTIALS Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair Graphics: the car looks like it's going backwards and the colour schemes are appalling Sound: Quick grandma, fetch my hearing aid! Options: definable keys

'The basic concept is interesting, so it's a shame it's been so poorly implemented. Sound is weak, and the graphics are a mess. Wobbly sprites stagger around garishly coloured screens: red and white yuk!. This untidiness carries through to the gameplay. Searching buildings is uneventful, while driving sections are only marginally more interesting. The sole challenge appears in the Arena section - but with only one life you're almost certain to die. Any further interest in the game is killed stone dead by the appalling multiload system.'