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For a disk-only game, a 4x4 screen playing area may not sound like much - but within those screens, Tank Command has a wealth of detail and action. This isn't immediately apparent from the starting screen, but as soon as you get into tank battles and explore the landscape, the depth of the game becomes apparent.

Your task is to find soldiers dotted around the playing area who have to report to you. They appear one at a time an in a set order of positions on the map which have to be reached in your tank and cleared of enemy vehicles before the man can report. This is the main attraction and challenge of the game, as you try to get to the next soldier without having your turret splattered across the picturesque landscape.

There are two main phases and views of the game - one a movement phase with an overhead view and the other the fighting phase with a panoramic view from the turret. The overhead view is of a single game screen showing the landscape features and tanks. The landscape consists of open country, rivers, woods, beaches, a lake and other minor features. The tank can drive on any of these at varying speeds - including the lake!

When the tank crosses between screens, the disk drive whirrs and the new screen flicks up. A map of all sixteen screens can be viewed and this shows the position of all the revealed enemy and the next solider to get to. The enemy will reveal themselves when the tank appears on their screen or when it gets near to them. Running into a tank or pressing the fire button will change the display to the view from the tank turret.

This is more attractive than the map screens, with some detailed scenery against which the fighting takes place. The turret can be swivelled 360 degrees with the background scrolling reasonably well as you move. The enemy can be anywhere around you, so first they have to be got into view and then their range found. They can be very close to you if you collide with them, filling the view, or anywhere between there and the far distance where they are very small.

Each target is equipped with different thicknesses of armour which have to be hammered through with successive hits from your shells. The target has to be pinpointed by changing the elevation on the gun and rotating to keep the moving vehicles in your sights. Not only will they try to avoid you but the enemy will shoot back and wear down your own armour or disappear off the screen. Prior to explosion, the tanks flash brightly but may still loose off a last shot before going to the scrapyard.

After clearing a sector containing a soldier, he will drive up to the screen in a jeep, leap out and salute you before you return to the overview of the sector. Another nice feature is the turbo on the tank which will automatically race the tank to full speed for a time. Use of the turbo will heat up the engine dramatically and, if the temperature gets too high, movement may be severely restricted until it cools down.

While whizzing around, you need to become familiar with certain types of location where the enemy will always appear in the same place. On roads with barriers across, gun emplacements and tanks may appear by them and present a dangerous threat. Or an enemy may pop up in the middle of a road you're busy steaming across.

At the end of a game there's a readout of how many of the enemy were destroyed, men reported and a ranking. If all the men are successfully rescued the armour is partially restrengthened and then the tank is thrown back into the fray with even more of the enemy in greater concentrations.

At first sight the graphics, sound and gameplay are pretty ordinary but what makes the game a winner is the absorbing nature of the task of battling through to the next soldier and the increasing difficulty of an already tough computer opponent. The panoramic views are detailed and the fighting that takes place on them requires skill to minimise damage to the tank. A worthy addition to the Gold range that will please most disk owners.

Very nice game, this, with lovely graphics and some good blasting action. The enemy put up a brave fight, often managing to weaken your armour enough to give you the Game Over business. It is by no means easy to nip in and blast them without being blasted in return. When there are two or more tanks on screen, the action can get pretty frentic - time to go off and scour the landscape for another route to your goal!

P. Well designed map and features.
P. Good panoramic views.
P. Tough tank opponents that get tougher in numbers.
P. Absorbing task as you fight from soldier to soldier.

N. Tape owners will have to wait for a version of the game for once.
N. A larger playing area would have been nice!