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Some great fool has pressed the button, and started World War III. Who started it? Nobody knows, but hallelujah, the missiles are flying and the only thing standing between them and the obliteration of the entire Western hemisphere is you and your S.D.I. satellite. Yes, that whacky little Star Wars defence system that cost a mere 59 zillion dollars and was fully endorsed by everyone's favourite cowboy President, grinning Ronnie Raygun is about to have its first test run - and its curtains if you fail to do your duty in this latest Sega coin-op conversion.

The first scene is set in space, with mother Earth forming a part of the horizontally scrolling backdrop. The player's satellite is dropped off by a friendly space shuttle, and the action begins. The aim is to shoot down all hostile missiles and satellites by blasting them with your laser, which is aimed with a mouse-controlled cursor in similar fashion to Atari's ancient Missile Command. For some reasons which will remain nameless - let's call it game designer's licence - the lasers don't strike their target instantly, but take a split second to get there, sometimes allowing the target to slip by before the lasers impact. Therefore, for faster moving targets it's often wise to shoot just in front of them to ensure their destruction.

The satellite can also be moved, either by trundling the mouse while the left hand button is depressed, or using a joystick in the other part in conjunction with the mouse giving a similar feel to the arcade game, with its joystick and trackball. Although this sounds a little tricky, the latter control method is excellent - more that can be said for mouse only, which is very sluggish in practice and tends to cause frustration when the satellite won't move quickly enough. The reason for satellite movement is that if an enemy space vehicle hits it, a life is lost and the level is restarted from scratch.

Occasionally, a friendly satellite appears which drops a power pd when blasted. When this is picked up, an extra feature is added to your craft; a yellow pod gives extra firepower, a red one gives multiple cursors (up to three) and blue pods give extra speed when moving the satellite.

Each level lasts for a specific period of time, and if every enemy missile and satellite is blasted, a 20,000 point 'perfect' bonus is awarded, and the player goes on to tackle the next level. If some missiles get through the defence, indicated by a damage meter at the bottom of the playing area, the player has to endure a 'defensive' level.

At the bottom of the screen is the Earth, oblivious to the clusters of missiles winging their way over the horizon. These are shot with lasers before they fall to earth and wreak immeasurable damage. Any missiles than sneak through add even more to the damage meter, which results in a loss of life if it is totally filled. When the assault is over, the percentage of targets show down is displayed, and converted to points before the second level begins.

This is played over a different backdrop, and although fundamentally similar to the previous level, has faster and more aggressive enemy forces. There are twelve levels in all, each offering an increasing level of difficulty.

A neat feature is the playable highscore table, which apparently leads to a cheat level if you can complete it. Scores are automatically saved for posterity - a presentation point I applaud.

At grass roots, S.D.I. is a Missile Command variant, although enough has been added to make it a thoroughly addictive game. Reactions are tested to their limits as swarms of enemy craft and salvoes of missiles fly around the screen. I particularly like the joystick/mouse control option, which keeps the gameplay at a frantic level as you co-ordinate both hands to inflict as much damage as possible, yet stay out of harm's reach.

The graphics are colourful and detailed, and the horizontal scrolling is surprisingly smooth. A parallax starfield is also used to get good effect.

The backgrounds are nicely detailed, and in the midst of the action, the colourful explosions look at though a firework display is taking place!

There's a different tune on each level - some are rather mellow and melodious, quite a feat for the usually tinny ST sound chip. The sampled loading music is also good, although it's a little scratchy in places.

S.D.I. is a very simplistic game, but that's where its appeal lies - you can load it any time, put your brain in neutral and blast away to your heart's content. Take the initiative and try it out.