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Nestling near a black hole - strategic gateway to the Galaxy - lies the lifeless planet of Nu-Earth.

A once-teeming paradise, the planet has been ravaged by years of conflict between Earth's warring factions: the Southers and Norts.

In an effort to sway the balance of power, genetically engineered infantrymen have been created by Souther scientists, who are able to withstand the poisonous atmosphere generated by decades of chemical warfare.

Betrayed by a Souther traitor, the Genetic regiment was ambushed and massacred by Nort troops. The single remaining GI has since vowed to track down the traitor and avenge the death of his comrades.

Deserting the Souther army, the Rogue Trooper now scours the planet surface for eight vid-tapes which will identify the traitor and allow him - or her - to be brought to justice.

Carrying the digitally preserved personalities of his three dead buddies - Gunnar, Helm and Bagman - Rogue has to find the tapes and present them to Millicom, the Souther military headquarters. Only then can the identity of the traitor be revealed and Rogue's friends re-gened to their formet GI existence.

Rogue has to be guided around a desolate Nu-Earth landscape, avoiding both Norts and Souther troops, and hazards such as pill-boxes and mines.

The planet's surface is shown on-screen in 3D, with a local scanner at the top of the screen giving Rogue's immediate location.

The three bio-chips are also displayed, and constantly give advice and encouragement to Rogue as he continues his quest. They also give details about his life-status and ammunition reserves - presenting a visual warning when levels are falling low. Extra supplies are to be found scattered about the planet's surface, however, and Rogue collects these by simply walking into them.

Once the eight vid-tapes have been found, Rogue can make his way to the Millicom spaceship, where the information can be beamed to Millicom HQ. The traitor can then be recognised and captured, and Rogue can re-join his friends.

Congratulations to Piranha! A licensing deal which does what it should - that is to create an interactive Rogue Trooper story on the C64. It's thoughtfully designed and deviates very little from the original cartoon strip storyline and artwork.

It's also enjoyable and addictive to play, although there is the slight problem that the gameplay is a little simple. After completion, the novelty and addictive qualities fall off sharply, and it's a shame that there isn't more of a challenge - a little more depth could have led to a really special product.

Perhaps there will be a Rogue Trooper II... I live in hope.

For a game which is converted from a comic strip, this is a real graphic let-down. I don't like the monochrome scheme - surely the walls could have been filled in, and a little more colour would have gone down a treat.

The gameplay is repetitive and there's no real atmosphere, a vital element of the original story. There's hardly any sound - just a few unimaginative whistles and bangs.

The structure is simple, but this simplicity leads to a loss of addictive qualities. There is a certain amount of enjoyment to be had, but a tenner seems a lot to pay for such a limited concept.

2000 AD time again folks. Yet another character gets the binary treatment and... well, it's not too bad. The action is a little slow, with Rogue and the enemy troops tip-toeing about in a very effeminate fashion.

The backdrops are pleasant and the game hangs together well, but when all eight videos have been collected (a not-too-difficult task in itself) the urge to return may well disappear completely.

This is one of the better licences to appear recently, although it's still not worthy of the character.

Presentation 82%
Adequate instructions and useful on-screen information.

Graphics 71%
Well defined monochrome backdrops and characters - possibly an attempt to recreate the feel of the comic strip.

Sound 19%
A few simple spot effects which fail to generate any atmosphere.

Hookability 70%
The action is straightforward, but hardly enticing.

Lastability 42%
A simple objective which is fairly easily achieved.

Value For Money 56%
Expensive, considering its limited lastability.

Overall 69%
A competent tie-in which is fun to play, but sadly lacks any long-lasting challenge. May well appeal to fans of the 2000AD comic strip.