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Ever wondered what it must be like to sit atop several million pounds of thrust as it blasts you skywards toward a minute hole through which you must pass? Ever thought how difficult it must be trying to link up with an object the size of an armchair in the vast emptiness of space while both of you are hurtling around the earth at 17,000 miles an hour? What goes through your mind as you pilot the world's biggest and most expensive glider toward a minute strip of tarmac, knowing that you'll only get one chance, balancing height and speed to make a good or disastrous landing? Stop wondering. Cease thinking. Put yourself out of your misery. See for yourself.

Microdeal has got it all on cassette. Space Shuttle encompasses all these things. You lift off and pilot the shuttle toward a small "window" to achieve a successful orbit near a satellite you have to reclaim. Your progress is plotted on a screen on your instrument display board. Once successfully established in orbit you dock with the satellite and retrieve it with your mechanical arm.

Retro fire slows you down and you re-enter the earth's atmosphere and pilot the shuttle down to the landing strip. Easy, hey? Just you try it! One millimetre out on blast off or re-entry and you rendezvous with neither the satellite nor landing strip and no points are scored. A mite too heavy with your thrusters on docking and you end up spinning out of control or crashing into the satellite - with no points. Fail to balance your height and speed correctly on approach and you end up as yet another crater - again no points.

The easiest part is picking up the satellite with the shuttle's arm. Sad to say, these are often the only points I can pick up, and I've been at it for ages.

For your money you get a full instrument display, a panoramic view through your windscreen and an extremely interesting and absorbing game. Any section at which you fail is aborted and the next section is started, so you always complete the game, even if you're a compete "no-no" like me.

On the minus side, the game is in black and white, and I found the music between the games a bit tedious. You can't turn it off without BREAKing the program. If you want ten minutes' peace and quiet you have to reload the game before restarting.

But don't let that put you off. It is a game well worth buying.

Adam Young