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Mutants does not concern the genetically-trashed warpos of popular mythology. No sir, what we have here are 'macrogenetic mutoids', would you believe, biological weapons that have somehow got out of control and are now a threat to the universe, freedom of the press, Labour Party solidarity, etc.

In your faithful craft, the Rainbow Warrior, you must help clear out these sources of interplanetary pollution by travelling into fifteen mutoid-dominated zones to retrieve the components of an anti-mutant device. The weapons you have at your disposal include lasers, missiles and barrier blocks, which can be used to keep the muties out or in. The mutants themselves vary from a fine but deadly mist to complex, fast-growing networks. As you move your craft around, the zone you're in smooth-scrolls in two dimensions.

The weapons you choose before undertaking a mission are important because each zone requires a different strategy. Some mutants can only be blocked, while others can be destroyed, if only temporarily. When you have collected one or more device pieces, you can deposit them at the sixteenth zone to get extra lives. Once all sixteen pieces have been dropped off, you may proceed to the next frame.

Mutants shows the usual Ocean flair. Gameplay is finely-tuned and the game is visually very pleasing. Some strategic thinking is needed too but above all I felt I was getting better at the game as I gained experience. That's a factor that always gets the punters hooked. An intelligent shoot-'em-up.