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After 10,000 years of peace on the cyber world of Thraxx, the magic Fireblade has shattered and the evil Havok has has come to power. Only one brave Bladeknights, Hiro, has survived. But before he can take on Havok the sixteen fragments of the Fireblade, scattered throughout five levels of the below-ground Undercity, must be found.

Hostile creatures attack Hiro and can be destroyed by hand-to-hand combat (hold the fire button down longer for more powerful moves) or various missiles fired from Hiro's cyberarm. Some of the bricks in the walls of each level may be smashed to reveal bonuses.

I wasn't surprised to discover that this was programmed by Core of Rick Dangerous fame. The platform and ladders gameplay is similarly enjoyable with some good graphics. I particularly like the way that unexplored areas remain black until visited, so at least you know where you've been. What's missing, though, is any humour or significant graphic variety without which the repetitive action eventually becomes tiresome.

I really enjoyed this one with an ace tune to get things going and a very slick start-up scene of coin-op quality. The Rick Dangerous influence has rubbed off and as a result it's all highly playable stuff but with more of an arcade adventure feel to it with different directions to go in and quite a few new areas to explore. There are plenty of new creatures to see, but why there has to be continual use of dull grey backdrops I don't know - pity as otherwise this is a good futuristic romp.

A C64 version's coming soon, priced £9.99/£14.99.

Presentation 80%
Excellent intro sequence.

Graphics 65%
Cute sprites, but backgrounds largely unvaried.

Sound 70%
Good in-game tune or FX.

Hookability 74%
Good fun for a while.

Lastability 68%
Five large levels but action gets repetitive.

Overall 70%
A playable arcade adventure, but lacking variety.