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I first played Paperboy on the Spectrum a few months ago, and found it instantly playable, instantly addictive and, what's more, instantly fun!

I've now played the Commodore version, and I'm glad to say that Elite have done a superb conversion job from the original arcade game of which I was such a fan.

For those of you who have never played any version, arcade or otherwise, the game sounds fairly boring. Simply deliver newspapers (why not copies of C&VG?) to the correct addresses, try to persuade other non-subscribers to subscribe, by lobbing papers through their windows, and at the end of the day, complete at BMX course in one piece. Simple, eh?

Well, not quite. You see, as on a real paper round, there are hazards such as cars, dogs and drains. Unlike real life, there are giant dogs that walk on their back legs, skateboarders, reject rollerskaters from the Martini ads, and rather overweight ladies, in what look like CND jogging suits!

To gain extra points, you can try and throw papers into bird baths, knock lids off dustbins, and hit various targets on the bonus course.

You start the game with three lives, and lose one of them if you come in contact with any hazard, or crash into a wall.

One advantage is that you don't lose any lives if you crash on the BMX course. That basic object of the game, is to complete a full week's work intact - that way you get paid.

As I said, I've played the Spectrum version as well, and completed it within days, but I've been at the Commodore version for over a week now, and I can't seem to get past Thursday - so any pokes for infinite lives, send to Ideas Central at the usual address!

The graphics are a great improvement on the Speccy version. On that machine, they took up only a small section of the screen, whereas on the C64 version, they fill the whole screen.

They are big and bold, although some of the sprites are slightly chunky, and the streets do become repetitive after a while.

Sound is well above average, with a fast-boppin' title tune, a slower, more leisurely paced game tune, and another fast jingle during the bonus game.

At the end of each day, you are given a report on how well you did, and if you missed delivering any papers to the right addresses, they may stop their subscriptions.

Overall, a well executed game, and another worry C&VG hit for Elite. Many of the most recent arcade conversions have been very poor. Paperboy is the exception. Rush out and buy it now. You won't be sorry!