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Once again the Universe is under threat: the evil ruler Teladon is plotting destruction from his hideout deep in the labyrinthine structures of the moon which bears his name. The player's task, armed only with a hoverbike and a laser gun, is to navigate the complex tunnels and mazes, locate the self-destruct button and initiate Teladon's demise.

The moon is surrounded by a series of concentric mazes connected by rocky tunnels. Avoiding the edges of a steep-sided 3-D crevasse the player searches for an exit into the complex below. Enemy vessels attack and occasionally create laser beam fences which must be destroyed; a moveable target allows direction of the hoverbike's laserfire.

Collision with any obstacle at average speeds means instant death. but travelling at very slow speeds causes the bike to bounce rather than explode. Excessively slow progress is detrimental to the player's oxygen level, though, as signalled by a decreasing meter.

Once located, a hole in the ground allows access to a maze of 3-D passages inhabited by hostiles which are best avoided. The task is aided by collectable icons which represent extra lives, laser supplies, oxygen bubbles or keys for use in the tunnel below.

As the player nears Teladon itself the surrounding tunnels and mazes become shorter. Having reached the centre, the self-destruct is activated and the Universe liberated from doom.

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: lacking in variation and colour
Sound: a poor repetition of uninspiring sound effects

'Teladon involves an interesting combination of elements. However, for a game which boasts two completely different areas of play, it doesn't offer much variety. Hurtling down the tunnels requires so much care that the race soon turns into a ramble; attempts to inject some speed into the procedure are swiftly halted. The maze sequence lacks compulsion since you have very little power to combat alien fire and there's little to collect. Zapping enemies gives minor satisfaction since they have the annoying power of regenerating whenever you return to a location. Gameplay is initially quite difficult and. unless you persevere, you definitely won't get hooked. 20 levels in the same monotonous mould are unlikely to lead to major addiction.'

'After playing and greatly enjoying Yeti, I held high hopes for Teladon. But alas, it was not to be. What I did find was a graphically average, collect 'n' blast maze game with one or two interesting ideas. Although fun at first, I soon tired of first zooming along a canyon at full pelt on a jet bike, and then descending to the subterranean mazes to battle it out with the guards (who simply potter up to you on their little scooters and blast you to bits). Teladon is a merely average game, and although not disastrous, I leave you with the time-honoured piece of advice: 'try before you buy.'

'In trying to combine two memory-exhaustive game types, Teladon's programmers have had to compromise. The blend is a repetitive and ultimately tedious mongrel of a game. Not only is Teladon boring, both parts are very tough to play. The perspective scrolling in the tunnel section is too jerky and the laser sight too slow to permit accurate blasting of hostiles. The game also comes to an abrupt end if you don 't decelerate in time to shoot a force field, because the player is reincarnated on the same spot on which he expired, and is forced to sit repeatedly through the static effect until all lives are gone. The maze section is made extremely difficult by the laser-toting aliens, and luck is at a higher premium than skill. The final nail in the coffin is the lack of variation in both sections; even the pretty graphics can't save Teladon from mediocrity and I advise against buying it.'