You toss and turn in your bed. Images flash by. You recall being spat on and shot at in Iraq. The regular beatings and torture in a Cambodian jail... So begins this novel text adventure that manages to impress despite the shoddy DIY packaging.

You play a CIA assassin, known to his colleagues as The Waster, an ex-Vietnam vet not generally regarded for his sense of humour. The program comes in two parts. The first involves a nightmare journey through The Waster's troubled psyche, in which he relives slabs of Nam and New York life, and the second which details his latest hit.

It's an effective design play by author Steven Pear. Plagued by a turbulent past, you must first conquer your own fevered imagination before embarking on the final sanction. The two parts can only be played in sequence. (The text is similarly dramatic: 'Bullets snap past you like taut steel whips' is a typical line.)

Such sparkle more than compensates for the occasional spelling gaff. A shame then that the game is rather spoilt by a single key command input routine. It won't recognise anything other than the ten pre-set options (e.g. 'T' for take, 'E' for eat). This kind of set menu is hardly conducive to a good mental romp.