Nice game, shame about the price

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When I first read Mirrorsoft's rather spartan description on the packaging of its latest release, my first thought was that it looked like a rather simple game which would have all the appeal of a plate of soggy cabbage. Yet after only five minutes I was hooked.

It's a very long time since I have sat up all evening, playing just one game - the last time it happened was when I first obtained a copy of Elite.

If anything, Tetris is too addictive I almost missed the deadline for this review because every time I sat down to write I couldn't resist having a quick couple of attempts at beating my previous high score.

First you enter your skill level - between 0 (novice) and 9 (superhuman). I would suggest that you have a few practice games at the novice level first. But be warned. By the time you've finished practising, you'll be well and truly hooked.

One slightly annoying aspect is that immediately you select the level, the game starts. I would prefer a short countdown period first - just one or two seconds to position my hands over the correct keys would be especially useful, particularly at higher levels when things tend to be fast and furious.

The challenge starts with a shape which appears at the top of the playing field and begins to drop towards the bottom. As it is falling, you can move it left or right or rotate it so that when it reaches the bottom it is positioned as and where you want it.

Now dexterity and quick thinking enter the scene. Immediately the first shape reaches the bottom, another - which can also be manoeuvred and rotated - appears at the top and starts to fall.

The idea is to manipulate the continuous supply of seven different shapes so that they fit together almost like a jigsaw puzzle - the object being to form complete, unbroken lines increase the level yourself by pressing the A key.

There are three other useful keys which you can use: X shows the next shape that will appear, Z drops the current shape to the bottom extremely quickly and S allows you to turn off the sound, which comprises just a simple beep emitted when a shape reaches its resting place.

The pitch increases or decreases depending on how far up the playfield the shape lands.

I noticed a small glitch when I tried to type in my name on the high score table. The delay before a depressed key started repeating must have been reduced for some reason and when typing in DESMOND I tended to end up with DESSMONND or some other strange mutation.

My only real criticism, however, has nothing to do with the game itself. I would like to know how Mirrorsoft can justify the exceptionally high prices for a game which looks to be a relatively simple piece of coding.

The cassette version is almost as expensive as the disc version of other, more complicated games, and close on £13 seems a bit excessive for a single game, no matter how good.

Desmond