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Nightrider is a game for the larger Oric, in which the player has to recover stolen shares from ex-Foundation (the program does not tell you what the Foundation is) members and staff who are now 'trying to legally takeover'. They must be stopped by force - but the player must not kill them.

Giving aid in this mission is an intelligent, computer-controlled car (could this program have anything to do with TV's Knight Rider, do you suppose?), which provides all the necessary data, maps and so on, and which interjects comments to keep the player on his or her toes.

Nightrider failed to load at 'fast' rate - a common failing with Oric games - but provided no problems at the 300 baud rates. After loading, the user is invited to wait for a few seconds while the game is set up before being given a brief explanation of the available data - fuel loss, strength of foe, number of shares to be found, likelihood of survival and the possibility of zero resistance.

There are four different maps which the player may consult at each turn. These give details of the terrain, skill factor, odds against success, place at which the action occurs, and the number of shares available.

The player, who is assumed to be riding in his souped-up car, the Night 1000, is faced with a series of opponents, most of whom appear to be either sadists or traffic wardens (there's a difference?), and who all have different strengths.

For example, traffic warden Frank N Sikes has a welcoming committee of nine men with guns, while another opponent will be armed with lasers, mortars, or a tank.

After the player has been notified of the opponent's strength, the options available are to fight, run, quit the game, or to get help quickly. This latter involves jumping the car over a river to be refuelled, and this leap has to be carefully controlled to avoid overhanging cliffs and quicksand.

Selecting the 'fight' option simply involves a very minor calculation - you are told your opponent's strength, and all you have to do is select sufficient force to overcome him. Care must be taken in this, since using too much force will kill, which is not allowed.

And that's all there is to it - you simply keep meeting opponents, collecting their shares if you beat them, while refuelling as necessary. I must admit that I found refuelling quite difficult - in most cases I simply disappeared into the quicksand, and had to begin again. I don't know what happens when you've collected all the shares - I'm afraid I lost interest long before I reached this stage.

Nightrider is hardly a showcase for the Oric's capabilities - its use of graphics and sound is minimal, and it seems more the type of game that a keen user would type in from a magazine listing rather than a commercial piece of software.

I was not impressed.