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Not satisfied with exporting every detective movie and TV programme they have ever made to Britain, the Americans are now trying to convert us to Starsky and Hutch on computer.

Shamus, a new game for the Commodore 64, is based loosely on the arcade hit Berzerk. Shamus may seem a strange title to give a game, until you discover that it's American slang for a private investigator.

Shamus' latest case is the most difficult and dangerous assignment of his career. He must track down the 21st century's most infamous criminal, The Shadow, to the heart of his underground lair. Shamus must battle his way through a maze of rooms filled with his adversary's henchmen on his way to the final confrontation with The Shadow.

The object of the game is to reach the Shadow's throneroom buried deep in his castle stronghold. There are four levels, each consisting of 32 different rooms. To move onto the next level, you must help Shamus explore every room and collect the correct key to unlock the gateway to the next level.

Each location is populated with three different types of mutant guards, whirling drones, robo-droids and snap-jumpers. Each type has varying degrees of intelligence - the ability to locate Shamus and follow him - and speed, but all are deadly to our private eye. When you enter a new room, you'll have to have all your wits about you and quick reflexes too or you'll end up in very hot water.

Spending too long in one room can prove damaging to Shamus' health as The Shadow is waiting in the wings ready to leap out at the unsuspecting detective. Shamus cannot kill him in this situation, only stun him momentarily to make good his escape.

The game provides four levels of difficulty. I'm afraid even the first level taxed this reviewer's gnarled joystick fingers. Further levels get progressively more difficult until they reach what I call the impossible level!

Shamus is produced by Synapse Software for the Atari computer. The game is imported into Britain by Centresoft and retails at £25.99.