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A horde of nasties, headed by a horrible green slime creature has overrun the sewers. The player controls LINDA, a dedicated and dangerous disposal droid who's assigned the task of flushing them out; eight grenades scattered around the sewers are recovered and used to destroy the nasties' lime-coloured leader.

Different enemies have pre-determined effects: some destroy LINDA outright, while others simply drain her power source. Objects such as batteries are found to replenish her energy.

Contact with water, spike pits or pods results in immediate dissolution. The player begins with five droids, but extra ones are collected in the sewers along with bonuses and mystery objects.

An information bar at the top of the screen reveals status levels, droids remaining, grenades to collect, current score the number of the present location.

The inspiration behind Scumball seems very much to be the classic (now budget) arcade adventure, Starquake. The alien atmosphere, highly-detiled graphics, busy sprites, appealing character and large area to explore are all very similar.

Nonetheless, this is an entertaining game in its own right. There are some neat traps - some of them very frustrating - but there's a good deal of fun to be had from just bouncing around! The instructions could be a bit more informative: they set the scene, but don't tell you precise details about what you need to do or what the status bars mean.

Still, it isn't too difficult to work out how things work. It may be derivative but it's neat, attractive and fun to play.

This unusual little game is a pleasant mix of genres and is very reminiscent of that old favourite Starquake - even the hero (or in this case heroine) reminds me greatly of BLOB!

Graphically, Scumball is very good: bright, colourful sprites move smoothly and quickly around an equally prety background. Sound consists of an incredibly up-tempo tune that blasts away throughout the game, but unfortunately it repeats far too quickly for extended listening periods.

The action, too, tends to wear a little thin after a few heated plays. Still, Scumball makes a great budget game and is all the more enjoyable if you liked Starquake.

Presentation 69%
Uninformative instructions, but clear screen display plus loading screen.

Graphics 70%
Not as jolly as the game demands, but detailed and colourful nonetheless.

Sound 81%
Rapid and enjoyable soundtrack, sadly repeated a little too soon.

Hookability 71%
Approachable and appealing gameplay is partially spoilt by poor instructions.

Lastability 80%
Plenty of locations to explore, and the game's cutesy atmosphere proves quite attractive.

Overall 79%
A playable and attractive arcade adventure in the Starquake mould.