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The Harrier is a fearsome piece of airborne weaponry. Its versatility as a fighter/reconnaisance strike craft are widely known. In the right hands it is lethal.

In my well-trained, experienced hands it was deadly. Mainly to myself as I kept crashing seconds after take off.

Mirrorsoft's Strike Force Harrier is incredibly difficult. But then what's the point of having a simulation program of a complicated piece of machinery if it's going to be easy.

First the game's mission: Destroy the enemy's headquarters situated 500 miles north north east of your position.

But first you must destroy all the enemy tanks threatening your ground sites, set up new sites and defend them from attack. There is also, of course, air battle to be fought.

There are practice, combat and demo modes to choose from. The demo is particularly useful. It shows what it is possible to achieve if you put in enough practice. That's useful because at times I felt I was making so little progress I felt like giving up.

There are three skill levels - pilot, commander and ace. My levels would be best described as utterly incompetent, useless and idiot.

To give a detailed description of the Harrier's instruments, how to fly it and other useful hints, takes a 28 page book. It's very detailed.

The graphics and sound are excellent. The ground detail is very good as are the three dimensional tanks. It's also nice to see the enemy aircraft explode in a ball of flame. Very satisfying for those with violent tendencies.

This is the best flight simulation I've seen for the Amstrad.