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Occasionally a game arrives in the office that blows the socks off everyone who sees it. Star Paws is just such a game.

Software Projects has now decided to lower the price of all their games to six pounds, which makes this an even better but than it was full price, which to be honest, is saying something.

Now to be quite honest, I felt that the storyline to Wizball was going slightly beyond the realms of sillyness, but Star Paws beats that hands down.

You take on the role of Captain Rover Pawstrong, who has been sent to defeat a colony of, get ready for this, Tasty Space Griffins, who, although are loyal and friendly animals, find themselves at the centre of an inter-galactic plot to overthrow the order of peace and stability in space. Now you may ask how are they going to do this. Well, quite simply, this is an illegal flock of oven-ready griffins, which have been bred by a group of mercenaries, who plan to sell this rare bird at ridiculous prices, thus destablising the monetary system, and allowing them to take over the entire universe. Sounds awful, doesn't it?

This is where you come in. You've been sent to the planet where the birds are being reared, and have been ordered to either destroy, or capture every single bird, and every married one of it comes to that!

This may sound easy, but even though the birds are friendly, they won't let anyone catch them, let alone kill them.

To help you slightly, a spaceship drops supplies on the surface of the planet, which contain extra means of propulsion, extra weapons to kill the birds, mining lamps, and bonus puzzles, which are basically a simplified version of Split Personality from Domark. At certain points, you can go under the surface into a mine, which may contain some griffins, or may not. If you activate a matter transporter, you play a game, similar to the first stage in Beach Head, in which you angle a gun, and try and blow the birds up.

There is a great title screen, brilliant super-smooth Parallax-scrolling, and a great Rob Hubbard tune, that is one of the best.

Overall, it is excellent value, and at the price, if you miss it, you must be off your rocker!