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A helicopter carrying three Capitol Hill diplomats on a top secret mission has crashed in a hostile forest behind enemy lines. In a covert operation, a crack guerrilla team - led by Major Alan 'Dutch' Schaefer and consisting of six seasoned mercenaries - is sent in to find and bring back the lost men.

Hovering in their helicopter above the diplomats' last reported position, Dutch and his squad drop to the jungle floor and disperse into the vegetation, with Schaefer himself taking the rear-guard.

Almost immediately, Schaefer comes across the crashed helicopter, but there are no signs of life... and no sign of his team either, until further on up the jungle path he finds one of his men dead - and mutilated beyond the normal bounds of guerrilla warfare. His weapon remains with his body however, which Dutch collects to supplement his own small arsenal.

A group of screaming vultures attack Schaefer in their haste to leave the bodies of more of his mutilated comrades, hanging from trees - skinned. There's definitely something monstrous in the jungle...

Following a short introductory sequence, Predator is presented in a horizontally scrolling format set across four, ten-screen loads. The first two sections see Schaefer running, jumping, punching and blasting his way along the jungle path. Before he reaches his planned pick-up point, the Major crosses three separately-loaded landscapes, over which he runs the gauntlet of guerilla ambushes. Schaefer carries three hand grenades which are thrown over long or short distances to eliminate particularly aggressive adversaries.

Apart from leaving cadavers on the path, the Predator also makes his presence known along the route as he tries to shoot Schaefer with his beam weapon. The screen alters colour to represent the Predator's viewpoint, and a triangular sight appears on the screen which tracks the Major and is avoided to prevent loss of life.

The next two loads feature the final encounter with the beast himself, which follows closely to the plot of the film. Here, Dutch uses his strength and intelligence in order to outwit and finally kill the alien.

First off, go and see Predator the movie - it's tremendous. OK, so to the game: Activision have worked hard to capture the look and feel of the movie and, to a large degree, they've succeeded.

The scenario sticks closely to the original plot, and the tension and atmosphere created as progress is made helps to sustain interest.

Predator is a visual treat: Arnie trudges along in a convincing manner and the jungle is extremely effective. The alien is a mite disappointing, but it's hard to convey any feeling of size or mass in a simple sprite.

The soundtrack is quite effective, with twittering birds in the background and a suitable gurgling noise as the alien watches your every move!

I must admit to finding it rather difficult to progress past the first two sections, but the action is certainly compulsive enough to make you want to keep trying.

Up until recently, the film tie-in genre consisted of very motley group of programs. However, this has really changed of late, with Platoon and now Predator showing what can be done with a little thought and imagination. To be honest, I've been hoping that Predator would be good, as the film ranks as one of my favourites - and I'm glad to say it isn't a disappointment.

The visuals are excellent: the jungle scenes are fantastic and Arnie is brilliantly designed as a suitably chunky flathead. The animation is similarly superb, with meticulous attention to detail - his arm pumps as each bullet sprays out, and his facial expressions differ as he looks up or down. The whole game mirrors this thoroughness and individual effects transform it into something special: the scrolling foreground, the suitably atmospheric sound, the colour change as the alien sights you, the grey-skinned corpses - the list is almost endless.

The gameplay follows the film closely, with the first two levels being shoot-'em-ups, and the emphasis shifting in the final loads to hand-to-hand combat and problem-solving.

The end-of-game sequence is absolutely brilliant, and is the icing on the cake. Predator is superb tie-in and really hits the mark.

Another film tie-in of another great film - but just for a change the quality of both are on a par. Predator is superbly presented on-screen with an excellent piece of parallax scrolling giving a very convincing effect of watching the action from behind the undergrowth.

The attention to detail all round is very tangible. Witness the flat-topped Arnie graphic and the realism of his gait and recoiling gun action. The alien tracking sequence adds to the sinister atmosphere by suggesting that the Predator is always behind you, thus urging you on to the end of the game.

In fact, the actual alien is something of an anti-climax after the fevered build-up! One thing that niggles is the slightly tricky control method which makes it difficult to gun down some of the guerillas and vultures in frenzied moments.

Overall though, a playable celluloid transposition whose close plot links should give it enormous appeal to anyone who enjoyed the movie.

Presentation 89%
Plenty of options, separate introductory and end-game sequences, plus a generally smark appearance.

Graphics 94%
Superbly detailed parallax, jungle backgrounds, complemented by the great Arnie sprite and some good special effects.

Sound 83%
Thumping good soundtrack and plenty of appropriate sound effects help to enhance the atmosphere.

Hookability 91%
The great film-style scenario and ease of play are a strong initial lure.

Lastability 81%
Actually defeating the Predator should take some time, and the action is very enjoyable - if a touch repetitive.

Overall 90%
Plenty of action, mayhem and destruction. A brilliant tie-in of an equally brilliant film.