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Sim is described as 'an arcade strategy game', but doesn't quite come up to scratch on either count. As regards the arcade action, you have to steer your spaceman hero through the sky and into tunnels, corridors and rooms, using just Left, Right and Boost for his jetpack, and avoiding the nasties such as flying saucers, snakes and giant rabbits. Even the fluffy clouds are liable to detonate on impact - in fact, everything that moves should be avoided. The scope for action is pretty limited and, since your pacifist hero has no means of hitting back, it's one long round of dodging and weaving.

As for the strategy, your aim is to collect a load of 'Simarils', whatever they are, and dump them in a 'reactor', for some obscure reason. This doesn't take a lot of strategic planning; in each screen (and there are plenty) the moving objects behave the same way every time you enter, so you can soon figure out your best evasive action. There are a few useful objects lying around - like a giant carrot for the giant rabbit - and a few bizarre items to avoid (would you believe radioactive seaweed?).

Sim has some irritating features, like the nauseating little tune which plays throughout the action unless you remember to turn it off every time you start a sequence. And the fact that there's no scrolling: when you fly off the left of one screen, a new one is drawn immediately, with you entering right. Rather confusing.

In its favour, it must be said that there's a lot if it. There are plenty of screens, and it will take the most digitally dextrous player quite a while to learn to dodge around the whole area collecting Simarils.

Jeffery Pike