Space. The final frontier. Well, you all know how that famous quotation continues. Now you can take a trip to the stars in one of Nasa's billion pound creations, the Space Shuttle, thanks to those video-game innovators Activision.

The Atari VCS is the key to this journey into space. The idea is quite simple. You have to pilot your Space Shuttle on a mission to rendezvous with a crippled satellite and then make it safely back to earth and a landing at Edwards Airforce base.

But when you come to play the game, things get a little more difficult! When I tell you that the game comes complete with a 32-page flight manual, you'll perhaps get some idea what I mean. This is definitely not a game for the Zap! Boom! Pzzzang! brigade. The nearest thing to it are those flight simulator programs for home micros.

The package also comes with an overlay for your Atari's several switches. This turns the console into a simulated instrument panel for your "shuttle".

You can play the game in one of three ways. Game one is described as an "autosimulator". What this means is that you can forget about the consol controls and concentrate on your joystick manoeuvres - at the same time learning about the game.

Flight two is an actual simulator-style challenge which is just like a real flight - except that you never use any fuel and most mission about reports are over-ridden by your "onboard computers".

Flight, or rather game, three is an actual unassisted Space Shuttle flight. What this means is that you're on your own when it comes to making all the important decisions!

After several "training" flights, you'll be ready to take on a full flight. You have to dock as many times as you can with the satellite - this gets more difficult after each successful docking manoeuvre.

If you manage to make it back to earth and land you'll get a flight ranking. You could become anything from a simple Payload Specialist to a fully fledged shuttle Commander.

And, as with all Activision games, you can send off for your special Space Shuttle pilot wings if you manage to dock six times with the satellite during one flight and get that coveted Commander ranking!

Each part of the flight, launch, docking and return to earth is a complex game in itself and will keep you entertained for hours - if you are prepared to take time to learn the game, that is. As I've already said, Activision's Space Shuttle is not a regular video game shoot-out.

There's just not enough space here to go into the game in full - suffice it to say that this reviewer enjoyed attempting to play it immensely.

How authentic is the game? Well, the booklet features a brief article by the author Steve Kitchen who is pictured sitting in a Nasa Shuttle simulator. He says that he got a first hand look at how the Shuttle works and that his cartridge is as close to the real thing as is possible. But does it ever lose any satellites completely, I wonder?

The best "serious" game for the VCS around. It will take some time to master - but it's well worth it!