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This futuristic SF game originated on Jupiter's second moon (no, I don't know what it's called either!) where a bunch of rejects from Earth's satellite cities were playing around inside a crashed shuttle. M Throid the Third observed this once, and promptly set about turning it into a multi-billion dollar sport which would make him a very rich man indeed.

The essence of the game is simple, involving three teams (all of which may be computer-controlled) whose sole aim is knock the ball, or 'projectyle', into the other teams' goals. The pitch is split into five multi-directionally scrolling zones. Think of a simple cross. At the centre is where the kick-off happens, in the middle of each wall there's a passageway to another zone. Each team has its own Defend Zone containing a goal for the others to score in. The remaining zone is Frantic, which contains three goals (one for each team) allowing for some very frenzied action!

In each zone there's a member from each team: as soon as the zone appears you take control of that member. Joystick control is simply directional, while pressing fire automatically boosts your player toward the ball. The Zones are biggish and you can sometimes go off screen, so there's also a radar scanner to help you. After you score a goal, a Replay box appears which will show the goal again - but this is easily bypassed by pressing fire.

A game of Projectyle is split into three sets, each lasting a few minutes. At the end of a set, the 'cross' is rotated, changing the position of all the Defend Zones around the central sector. To liven things up there are plenty of bonus objects which appear on-screen for you to collect. 'Teleport' magics all the players to the Frantic Zone and 'Loony Ball' makes the ball act weird for the collector. There are also bonuses which affect how slippery the pitch is, and how bouncy the ball.

Each team has eight players who each have six attributes: speed, weight, acceleration/deceleration, bounciness and intelligence (for computer players). These attributes can be improved by spending money on them. Players can also be injured. The game comes with eight weird teams, including the Jovian Jello Juggernauts and the Devils (from film planning!). These all have their own graphics, with a portrait of each player in the training screens.

The teams can compete in a one-off solo match, for one to three players, a Sudden Death tournament with six preliminary games and a League of between six and 21 weeks for all eight teams.

This is simple but frantic fun and the three-player option adds an extra twist with players forming fleeting alliances. There's not much time to think, though, as the action takes place at a frenetic pace. So it's more a test of reactions (and a fair bit of luck) than tactics. However, this is more than made up for by the team selection and training screens which, like the rest of the game, are slickly presented. Overall, Projectyle is great fun with friends and well worth buying.

The basic concept for Projectyle is very simple: a variation on Xeno and Ballistix which guarantees plenty of frantic action. It's certainly good fun to play, especially with three players. The graphics are very slick and fact, accompanied by some rich Amiga tunes. Overlaying all this is some superlative presentation, from the replays to the player portraits. This improves playability of course, but also lastability with the great team training/formation options and the league to compete in.

I don't know if it would be quite as much fun in one-player mode, although the league and options are bound to keep anyone amused for quite some time.

Presentation 91%
Packed with nice stuff, including goal replays, pics of each player, a league and the option for third player to use a joystick through the Microdeal interface

Graphics 84%
Simple game idea has been enhanced by a wide variety of slick-looking pitches which can scroll very fast

Sound 83%
A selection of good tunes

Hookability 85%
Simple to understand and play, if not master...

Lastability 84%
...with plenty of pitches, a league and training options

Overall 84%
A fun game superbly executed