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There can't be many games around to feature a woman as the main character. Well, Durell has broken this sex barrier with Saboteur II: Avenging Angel. It's a pity the game is not better. As a sequel it's not as good as the highly enjoyable Saboteur.

The plot of the first game had the Ninja breaking into a dictator's central security building then stealing a computer disk which contained the names of rebel leaders. And information about his deadly missile silo.

In Avenging Angel, you play the role of the Ninja's beautiful sister. She must hang-glide into the dictator's new command centre and office complex on top of a mountain which is also filled with underground tunnels and caverns. The game sprawls over 700 screens.

She must search for pieces of punched computer tape that control the missile flight paths, redirect the missiles before blast off and then escape by motorbike via the complex's one and only exit.

Most of the screen is taken up with the playing area display. Objects which you are near - such as a spanner or word - are displayed. You can take the object which is then displayed in another box. Some objects are shown as a question mark. There's also a timer which ticks off the vital moments before the missile launch. There's also a "pay display" which shows the Ninja's earnings. These go up as you collect pieces of tape or successfully defeat the baddies wandering around the complex.

Your energy level is represented as a red bar.

You start the game high in the sky on a hang-glider, moving high above the complex. Hitting the fire button will release you and then it's a long drop down onto the complex. Judging the right moment is a bit tricky. Some drops are longer than others. Sometimes you can fall for ages and when you eventually hit the ground your energy drops alarmingly and you'll be in no state to fight off any guards.

Once down all you have is a small map outline of the complex. So you're not entirely clueless but a more detailed map will be essential. The whole place is patrolled by guards and pumas. The guards have knives and flame-throwers. The cassette notes also mention vampire bats, but I didn't see any of these.

Fighting is typical stuff, all leaps, kicks and punches. Quite frankly, it's all very tame stuff and not particularly exciting.

After the first Saboteur this game is dull. Avenging Angel?