Holding off holocaust

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The Russians have launched a nuclear strike against the US and the only hope of preventing a nuclear holocaust is to send a squadron of stealth bombers into Soviet territory.

These brave pilots must knock out the launch sites and then proceed to Moscow and destroy the Soviet defence centre. The whole mission must be completed before the Russian missiles strike American soil - a total of about seven minutes.

As commander of the US space station you must decide how many of your bombers you will need to scramble to complete the mission.

Each fighter must be flown from the station before it can be used. The fighter is controlled by a series of thrusters which provide propulsion in all directions.

As the action takes place in zero gravity your ship continues to travel in the direction it was last sent unless you take suitable action. The weightlessness is simulated very well, but the plane handles like a flying hippo.

The response to the thrust control is abysmal - having played both the Amstrad and Commodore versions of Raid, I was very disappointed. For tunately the thrust control is not required in the later stages.

Having guided the fighters to Soviet territory you must now fly the remaining distance at ground level to avoid detection by radar.

Skimming over a smoothly scrolling landscape you must destroy enemy tanks and missiles while avoiding trees and other obstacles.

Having completed this stage you will be confronted by five missile silos. Fire a missile through a small window in each while avoiding enemy fire and the silo will be destroyed.

The whole procedure must be completed three times before you are allowed to launch an assault on the Soviet defence centre in Moscow.

Having left your plane, you single-handedly shoot out the doors of the defence centre, destroy all enemy tanks and take out every Russian guard.

This simple task accomplished, you will find yourself in the reactor room. Eliminate the robot guards, all within the time limit, and the world will be saved.

Despite the clumsiness ofthe controls when in the space station, Raid Over Moscow can still be relied upon to provide many hours of frustrating entertainment.

Steve Brook