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Unless you're completely brainless, you should already know what type of game this is from the title!

Okay, for the really thick ones (like JR), this is a shoot-'em-up of the semi-3D variety where things come 'out' from the screen towards you. You have to blast them before they blast you, y'know a sort of kill-or-be-killed situation.

The game is presented as a view through the screen type, complete with a Missile Command type cursor that you aim for firing. You can also move left and right, which helps you chase ships moving across the screen.

Your ship is in constant need of supplies, all three; ammo, fuel and shields. These can be replenished by shooting the object connected to the supply when it appears on screen.

The aliens themselves appear in front of you can proceed to hurl boxes at your screen; if the boxes touch the screen then you'll lose part of your shields.

You have a set number of aliens to destroy per wave, although some of them are 'humourous' and should be quite familiar, Uncle Clive for example. Once you've destroyed all the aliens on that wave then you progress to another, harder one.

The action takes place over several types of smoothly scrolling landscape, from mountain ranges to what looks like the walls from Hunchback.

It's a pity that software houses should still peddle games like this. Especially when the software house is Alligata. With previous hits such as Guardian, Blagger and Loco. I'd expect something a lot better than this. Shoot em Up is just an amalgam of all the worst bits that ever appeared in any shoot-'em-up. I can't help wondering if Alligata held this game back for some time, since it seems so dated. Even though there are a host of different baddies, there's only three different backgrounds all of minimal detail. The scrolling would have been nice if it wasn't for the top of the mountains flickering. All in all, I'm afraid it's a bit naff. Even if it was budget software, which it isn't, I wouldn't go over the moon about it. Its only saving grace is the Irish jokes on the scrolling message. These are so bad that I had to laugh!

I had high hopes when I first saw this game, could it be the unltimate shoot-em-up??? The answer was NO. This is a pretty boring version of Buck Rogers with only a few additions. The aliens are pretty easy to hit and their attack patterns don't differ much from one wave to another, making the game exceedingly boring to play. The landscapes scroll quite smoothly and the aliens are quite humourous, it's just that the game lacks any depth or variation. Perhaps it'd be better off put on the Budgie range?

Presentation 79%
Nice scrolling message and appearance.

Graphics 61%
Rather basic, but nice scrolling techniques.

Sound 56%
Rather average zaps, booms and tune.

Hookability 60%
Quite fun for a while...

Lastability 47%
But just for a while.

Value For Money 53%
It'd be better off being a Budgie.

Overall 46%
Disappointing shoot-em-up.