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Paul Hargreaves, the teenage graphic genius who brought you Glass - the extremely pretty shoot-'em-up - is back with Tantalus, 1024 screen epic starring Spike the Punkoid.

Spike, as all those who have studied the History of the Universe will know, is a genetically mutated creature produced by Punkoid Development Corporation.

Famed for their fighting prowess, the Punkoids are sent on the most important mission of their, inhuman, lives - to assassinate the last deviant human being on this side of the anti-matter curtain.

A team of four Spike Punkoids have been sent to the planet Tantalus to kill the deviant but it isn't an easy task.

The planet is riddled with caverns and hidden passages, known as the Fortress. The deviant had used his time well in protecting the planet from invasion.

There are 32 doors on the planet and the activator locks were well disguised and hidden.

The Spike Punkoids, the best fighting mutoids ever developed, soon decided that they would need all the defences of their ship, their amazing instinctive cunning and their six defensive weapons systems.

Your ultimate goal is the assassination of the deviant but in order to achieve this aim you will first need to open all 32 deadly doors by firing at and hitting the lock activators dead centre. Each time an activator is opened, a door, somewhere in the Fortress, will be removed.

There are 48 different types of alien defenders with sixteen different light patterns, randomly distributed around the Fortress.

Spike begins the game inside the Protonthrust craft - but if you find an airlock you can exit the craft and Spike is revealed in all his Punkoid glory.

There's no doubt that Tantalus is a very pretty game - but like Glass once you've enjoyed the graphics for a bit you begin to realise that there's not much to the actual game. A vast playing area is no substitute for addictive gameplay. Ultimately - like Glass - the game gets a bit boring. Great graphics, nice hero - but nothing that makes you want to come back for just one more go.