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Game plots come and go and when a totally original idea comes out it tends either to be completely obscure and unplayable or extremely interesting and addictive, Lemmings being a prime example of the latter. Well Codies, masters of the strange storyline (and it must be admitted the odd simulator or two hundred) have managed to top the scales yet again.

Steg is a slug, pure and simple. He doesn't have any nasty vices like drinking or smoking or eating ten tins of beans every day, in fact his only worry in life is the fact that as an asexual invertebrate he (she? it?) can't stop producing babies, known as t'yungunz. Naturally, as a responsible parent and potential computer games star, Steg must feed these hungry little creatures. Herein lies my only problem with Steg. You see, I always thought that birds and rodents ate maggots (and for that matter slugs) and that slugs ate grandad's cabbage and other yummy vegetable matter, but it seems that Steggy and his yungunz are unusually carnivorous and eat maggots (though presumably not other slugs) too.

Living in a strange underground world Steg isn't bothered at all by the aforementioned predatory animals, he has much more on his plate. As he travels through the shafts and corridors of his home catching maggots and trying to deliver them safely back to his hungry brood he is, himself, quite invulnerable. However, because he must trap and imprison each maggot in a bubble of slug slime which then floats upwards and away, hopefully towards his offspring, the precise location for trapping the maggots must be chosen carefully and the little green fellow must follow them all the way home. This is because Steg tunnels are littered with blowing bellows, sharp objects and various traps and obstacles, all of which have been designed by a benign maggot god to effect their escape by bursting Steg's bubbles and thus freeing them.

To help him along there are various energy, speed and score power ups as well as a special bionic slug pack consisting of robot legs, a rocket backpack and a nitrous oxide booster. These can be picked up and give him super speed for a limited period.

Steg is a very playable game. It takes a little while to get used to what is, admittedly, a very strange concept and strange gameplay. However excellent graphics and smooth sprite control combined with more tunnels than you've probably ever had to explore before in search of maggots, means that this game is a very worthy purchase, made even more so by the fact that it is completely original and still only £3.99. Unbelievable.

Label: Code Masters Memory: 48K/128K Price: £3.99 Tape Reviewer: Alan Dykes

Steg is an unusual game with plenty of charm and playability once you get used to the storyline an method of gameplay. Graphics are almost as good as on 16-bit versions and at £3.99 for a game of this quality and originality you can't go far wrong.