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Now, here's a *real* treat for Amstrad owners, Tau Ceti will quite simply blow your minds! A big claim? Well, we don't think so. It's the game that has everything a true games addict could ever want. There's strategy, zapping, fun and excitement all in one package. And if you've got a disc drive you should get hold of Tau Ceti Plus, a mega-mix of the game created by programmer Pete Cooke, with extra added features. Here's what the game is all about.

Tau Ceti, one of our G-type stars colonised by Earthlings in the year 2050, has been decimated by a vicious plague called Encke's Syndrome. The few remaining colonists have fled, leaving the robot maintenance systems in operation.

When a cure is discovered, the decision is taken to recolonize Tau Ceti. The first expedition, however, finds a malfunctioning defence system, damaged by a huge meteor and is destroyed.

You volunteer to go alone in an armed ground skimmer to return the defence system to normal operation. Your task is to search the devastated cities of Tau Ceti and collect the necessary hardware to shut down the massive fusion reactor in Centralis that fueled the planet in order to shut down the malfunctioning defence systems.

The defenders come in the shape of flying saucer craft called Hunters - of varying firepower and vulnerability. There are also things called spheres - like the Rovers in The Prisoner TV series. All are extremely unfriendly and potentially lethal.

Fortunately, the Skimmer is heavily armed with a laser, eight heat-seeking missiles, eight anti-missile missiles, eight starlight flares, infra-red nite sights, plus shields and a four way Elite-style scanner to avoid those nasty blind spots.

You've also got an onboard computer to help you work out just what is going on down on Tau Ceti!

On loading you see a view of the skimmer's instrument panel. The screen is divided into three areas. The large window of the left is your viewscreen, below that is a long blue area. This is your contact with the Skimmer's powerful computer. At the right of the screen is an information screen which included a compass and real-time clock along with a message showing the direction of the view selected, the city you are in and the ship's flight status. Below that is the scanner which gives a plan view of your surroundings, and below that three more smaller windows. The first gives the pilot's name and the scanner's complement of missiles and flares.

The second shows speed, shield energy, fuel remaining, laser temperature and height.

The third displays two automatic direction finders - the upper one locked onto the city and the lower onto your lander.

The Skimmer operates in two modes, flight mode and ground mode. In flight mode control of the program is via single keys or a joystick.

In ground mode you are in direct communication with the skimmer's computer via the computer window. You see the message "TYPE HELP OR SOME OTHER COMMAND" in the computer window.

Type HELP and the commands you can use are listed. Commands like MAP, RODS, LAUNCH, EQUIP, STATUS, etc.

The MAP command enables you to see where you are - and where you can travel to. Each city is connected by a series of "jump pads" which enable you to take your Skimmer from city to city. The map shows you these routes. Moving a cursor over the name of the city and hitting the fire button enables you to get a readout of the city's status. You can even ask your computer to FIND you a specific city and tell you all about it if you wish.

The RODS commands is a bit like the "pocket computer" part of Impossible Mission. You need to find all the rods to be able to knock out the Centralis reactor.

This game has some really nice touches. Try landing without slowing down and you bump along the ground! Shoot a guided missile at a retreating Hunter and you'll see it explode on the horizon - just like in Bugs Bunny cartoons when the villain is running away and Bugs chucks a stone which hits him just as you think he's escaped out of the frame!

The main difference to the Spectrum original come in the shape of enhanced graphics - like opening and shutting airlock doors, improved instrumentation etc and improved sound effects.

The gameplay is just as addictive - and we'll repeat our summing up from the original review back in December. If you only buy one game this year, make it Tau Ceti. It'll keep you busy for the next twelve months.