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This game should carry a government health warning to the effect that long term exposure to it could result in brain damage. Star Warp is an alien bash that leaves the senses reeling and your trigger-finger jerking involuntarily long after "game over" has appeared on the screen.

Before you is an out-of-window 3D view of space with stars speeding towards you out of the inky blackness. Strange looking winged aliens swoop out from the depths of space, hurling energy bolts at the shields of your space station. Your defence is your trusty laser which you use to destroy the energy bolts before they penetrate your shields.

No screen rolling is used in Star Warp; you move the sights of your laser around the screen window and exterminte everything in sight. With repeated firing, the temperature of your laser increases and eventually cuts out to cool down, leaving you defenceless.

Points are scored for everything you manage to hit which includes the mothership and a craft called "the bit" that sneaks out from the sides of the screen. The game ends when your shields have been depleted by the continuous onslaught of the marauding aliens.

The game may be played with keys or joysticks but unless you are blessed with remarkable manual dexterity, a joystick is a must. There are no sound on/off or freeze game options but a high score table is provided with a very realistic qualifying level.

The Mode 2 graphics in Star Warp are excellent and coupled with the redefined character set make this game very slick and classy. The sound complements the quality of the rest of the game with some nice noises emanating from the speaker of your Beeb.

Star Warp may be just a shoot-'em-up but it has a quality about it which lifts it above the level of so many similar games. If you are into this type of space carnage you should find the game a worthy addition to your collection.

Peter Rochford