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If you ever saw the film The Fantastic Voyage, you'll know the plot of a rash of games which have recently appeared. Maybe rash is the wrong word, but clot of games doesn't sound right - people might think I'm talking about myself again.

Perhaps I'd better explain for the benefit of the uninitiated. You and your submarine have been shrunk to microscopic size and injected into a patient. Your task is to get through the various blood vessels in order to destroy the clot which threatens the patient's life.

En route are a variety of organisms, some of which are good for the patient and some of which aren't. For example, enzymes are to be blasted since this causes healing properties to be released and improves the chance of success. However, allowing one to pass by has no adverse effect.

In contrast, antibodies and bacteria *must* be destroyed because of their harmful effects. Not everything has to be blasted though. Blood cells and clotlets must be avoided. Your submarine is perpetually moving forward, presumably going with the blood flow.

You can go faster if you want and then slow down again, but there is a minimum forward speed which drives you inexorably onward - typically forcing you to crash into something you'd must rather avoid.

The vein takes a rather tortuous path, so you must move from side to side in order to avoid the vein walls. It's a bit like the arcade driving games where you have to stay on the road. Bumping into the vein walls releases antibodies which must be destroyed.

Failing to zap the nasties or accidentally zapping the goodies leads to a reduction in the patient's health. This is being constantly monitored and displayed as both an auditory and visual signal.

Additionally, the clot isn't exactly benign so you only have a certain time to reach it. All these factors go to product a game not unlike Starblaster and many others, although the requirement to avoid certain things rather than simply blast everything in sight makes for a more complicated game.

Of course, the Sirius quality is there too, so the game is well implemented with good graphics and some use of sound.

Control is via joystick or keyboard, the game can be paused and the sounds can be toggled off... all things we expect from Sirius. There are three levels available - easy, normal and difficult - and each can be played in normal or extended form. So far, I've only managed to save patients on the easy level, and never more than two even then.

Once really distinctive feature of Plasmania is that it talks to you. It's not exactly a great conversationalist - all it says is "Sirius presents Plasmania, ha, ha, ha". However, it produces this sound even if you haven't got a voice card installed. If you've never heard a voice emanating from your Apple, it comes as a bit of a shock.

The game was originally called "The Vein Game" and the Atari version is called "Fantastic Voyage", but presumably it was harder to coax either of these from the speaker. Even so, it opens up some interesting possibilities. Any suggestions on what your Apple should say to you?