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John Darnell's finger-licking frolics across the spaceways

Astro-telexes are notoriously unreliable - especially the Series Seven. Because of this, a message to 'Captain Neil Armstrong' actually arrived addresses to 'Captain Rover Pawstrong'. This minor error means that an inexperienced canine space officer has been sent on a mission for which he is totally unsuited - and the future of the free Universe depends upon this success!

A band of mercenaries have begun breeding the Tasty Space Griffin, a selected delicacy among the Universe' populace and powerful force on the stock exchange. By flooding the market with birds, the mercenaries intend to destabilise the Universe's monetary system and then, with Governments in chaos, they can step in and take control of the Free Worlds.

Strong of heart (but weak of mind), Pawstrong sets forth on his mission, eventually landing upon the small moon of a distant planet where the mercenaries have set up the Griffin farm. Pawstrong's mission is to destroy all 20 Tasty Space Griffins using only his cunning (and one or two thermonuclear devices that are thoughtfully provided along the way).

Pawstrong and the scrolling lunar landscape are displayed in the screen's upper half, while below lies an information panel showing a list of the objects collected and a scanner giving the relative positions of the nearest Space Griffin and our spacesuited hero. Rover's energy is represented by a cooked Griffin, which disappears with time to reveal the bony carcass beneath. When the full skeleton is visible, Pawstrong's efforts come to an abrupt end.

The daring doggie can attempt to capture the birds by hand, or can utilise a variety of equipment. This is dropped from a supply ship which constantly whizzes around the moon. When Rover comes across one of these crates, it's automatically unpacked and the equipment is added to his store. The name of the item found is revealed in the slot below the main screen. There are nine different items to be collected ranging from extra weaponry and transport to food and a bonus puzzle which, if correct rearranged within a time limit, awards the player with a bonus score.

Below the surface of the moon lies a hidden mine with six levels of passages which are also inhabited by Griffins. A hidden map shows the levels and connecting elevators, and a mining lamp allows Pawstrong to make light of the situation. It's also within this mine that ammunition for Pawstrong's laser gun is found.

Collecting and activating the matter transporter allows Rover to be teleported to his laser gun which lies on another part of the moon. Here he bombards Griffins from the catapult-style weapon - once he has found their range. However, the crafty Griffins occasionally produce a trampoline, sending Rover's missiles back the way they came... with devastating results.

Whenever any of the birds are destroyed the supply saucer comes spinning down and collects the corpse, presumably to take them back to headquarters - they are delicious, after all!

As the first of Software Projects' new mid-price range, Star Paws is going to have a lot to prove - luckily, it's got a hell of a lot going for it. It's original, pretty, funny, addictive and great value for money. Although at first it seems that it's going to be easily completed, the going is deceptively tough and requires constant attention.

The graphics are not as polished as they might have been, and the occasional bug appears during play, but otherwise this has been one of the most enjoyable games in the office for quite some time. I suppose that Star Paws' main appeal is that it has no pretensions, it's simply a playable and enjoyable game.

It's really nice to see something as refreshingly playable as Star Paws come into the office. I don't know what it is that sets it apart, the graphics and sound are competent but that's not the point, there's some indefinable quality about the gameplay that keeps you coming back for more.

Like I said, I don't know what it is - if I did, I'd be raking in the dough designing games for software houses.

Star Paws is just great, and however simplistic that may sound it's still the truth to tough luck. The greatest recommendation I can afford to this game is that it's one of the few games we played because we wanted to and not because we had to.

The humorous slant in Star Paws makes quite a change from the usual 'life and death' scenarios. It's quite an appealing game; easy on the eye and gentle on the brain.

The gameplay is deceptively simple - what appears at first sight to be a rather dull chase game eventually ends up being extremely captivating, and addictive enough to warrant long-term attention.

The challenge is also consistent: no matter how many birds you've despatched, the next capture is just as pleasing as the last.

Complete with lovely graphics and some really smart parallax scrolling. I'm sure Star Paws will appeal to many people - and its mid-range price makes it a real bargain.

Presentation 91%
A novel loading screen, cinematic scenario, rolling demo and 'paws' mode.

Graphics 92%
The impressive title screen is a good taster for the outstanding scrolling backdrops and animation.

Sound 79%
A racy Hubbard soundtrack plays continuously - pity about the lack of effects though.

Hookability 78%
Accessing the equipment tends to be difficult and the control of Pawstrong proves a little fiddly at first.

Lastability 94%
There's four entertaining sub-games, and catching all twenty birds presents an absorbing challenge.

Overall 90%
A humorous and unusual release from Software Projects.