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America is under threat! President Quayle has declared a state of emergency as hostile forces swamp the land of freedom, and immediately close all McDonalds in every city. The plan is obviously to starve the population into submission, by depriving them of a supply of "Chicken Macnuggets (nuggets, nuggets, nuggets)" and "Filet-O-feesh-for-my vife". The securities market is destined to panic, and the pound will most certainly fall a couple of pfennigs. In view of emergencies such as these, the stockbrokers have had a whip-round and bought a squadron of Thunder Storm choppers to chase the hamburger-hating forces out of town, and off the face of the earth.

As it happens you are one of the life-hating individuals with the nous to fly one of these choppers, and in that capacity you find yourself sitting aboard the loaded aircraft, awaiting mission instructions. Your services are required in a multitude of built-up areas, or terrain-filled zones, and the only requirement is to shoot the fundament out of everything you see. If you believe that's in your grasp, "make your day" and "chocks away", ahem.

The first mission takes you into the thick of the conflict - with an aerial battle in the centre of the Big Apple, no less. The opening shots are of the Statue of Liberty - which is right in your path! After you take evasive action, there is a large supply of airborne enemy hardware to send groundward. The extent of the invasion force means a run at ground level, through the NY streets is required adding extra dangers from collisions with buildings. After clearing New York, a steep climb over Wolfteam Towers is required to finish the stage.

New York is safe, but the next cultural target is Jellystone Park - the Rocky mountain wilderness so beloved of the American people, for its picnic laybys, 'Old Smokey' (or whatever), and Yogi Bear. Now the peace is shattered by dozens of choppers - so you arrive to enforce some 'noise abatement'. Your descent into the big canyon leaves you vulnerable, so cover yourself against chopper attacks.

Then a series of gun emplacements need dislodging - with missiles. As you run along the rockside, a charge explodes in an attempt to cover you under a large wodge of dirt - evasive action! Next into the canyon proper, and some hairy moments with sharp enemy pilots, and jagged walls before victory is finally achieved.

The enemy now show they mean business by banding together their submarinal forces for an attack on those lovely American shores. Your chopper prowess is all that stands between peace and Miami with a SS-20 up its jacksie. With that in mind you plan an offshore raid, knowing the sleek cigar-shaped things will have to surface before shooting their noisome load. Sure enough, you have to face a barrage of air support as well as the submarine pack itself, which is prone to appear right underneath you.

Missiles are needed for such heavy tactics - but it's a struggle enough to remain stable in the rough weather, let alone target your weapons.

Stage four takes you to the fine archipelago known as Easter Island. It's your job to shoot down the enemy choppers that have seen fit to take up residence.

But at the same time, you must survive some close shaves with the cliff face... or else! After that, it's a simple matter of blowing up the enemy base! Hurrah!

Level five: the fortress! Here, the objective remains the same. Take out any stupid fighters that cross your path and shoot up just about every part of the fortress you can! Easy!

Level six takes you to Rome, where (rather mysteriously) the various landmarks have been infested with enemy 'planes and helicopters!

Argghhh! By this point, the game has got very tough indeed, with the sights appearing with only nano-seconds given to blow the suckers out of the skies!

Thunder Storm, like most CD games with tons of memory space are wont to do, includes a lively animated intro to 'whet' your palate. The graphics - again Manga-esque - are very close to those in the actual game itself. The intro is not that long, but fun-filled nonetheless.

Thunder Storm FX is an extremely pretty and mega-sounding shoot-'em-up with small pretensions of interaction.

Like Gus has said, the graphics are just like watching a (slightly jerky) film, but there are no avenues to explore. You must shoot the 'planes in order to make the animation continue - and that's about it really. Of course, I could enthuse about the graphics and say that nothing like this has ever been seen on a console before. However, in my books, gameplay is all-important, and although the compulsion to see the later levels is very strong indeed, it wasn't enough to keep me glued to the Mega CD.

Some people get a real kick out of seeing the amazing things that consoles and CD technology can do. Those individuals should buy this game immediately as it is a showcase game, but for those after a truly interactive, highly entertaining experience should go elsewhere.

Okay, I have to admit being highly impressed with the technical side of Thunder Storm FX. The game obviously uses a vast amount of memory to store the massive amount of picture data necessary for a cartoon movie.

Coupled with that are the aesthetic qualities of the graphics themselves - some of the sequences are smart and the explosions are breathtaking. With the fantastic sound they form a very atmospheric, but simple game. But this is one of the clearest cases, for myself, of game coming second.

The actual requirement of the player is secondary to this wonderful demo scrolling on in the background. The sort of skills needed are a narrow band of reflex action and memory mapping, so you know where to move the cursor next. Of course, that makes each level a repetitious chore in a short time, and its even worse replaying it because your continues are finished and you want to see higher levels.

I have got to be harsh in these situations because gameplay is what we are about - I can see pretty pictures at the movies anytime.

So if you want a technical marvel get Thunder Storm, but you're shelling out for a most expensive demo. So think on!

Control: Joy pad
Continues: 2
Skill Levels: 2
Responsiveness: Fair
Game Difficulty: Hard

Thunder Storm FX was originally a laser-disc coin-op that no-one thought could be converted to a console.

Thunder Storm FX comprises of ten missions, each involved with saving the earth. For the most part, the heli steers automatically around the level area. You just have to shoot!

Presentation 90% P. An intro, a modicum of options and some continues are all worthy features. N. The presentation of the options is hardly aesthetic or polished.

Graphics 93% P. Computer animation, very smooth, fast and with clever transitions of perspective and scale. N. A weird blurredness, due to eccentric colouring in places, is distracting.

Sound 93% P. Amusing effects end terrific speech lends immense atmosphere. N. Sound is ideally suited to a game of this type - so no gratuitious symphonies added.

Playability 75% P. It's initially exciting being part of the dynamic visuals presented. N. The shallowness of the game - and its frustrations - strikes home quickly.

Lastability 69% P. Ten missions, and by number three they're getting tough. N. Absolutely no playing urge after completion, if it lasts that long.

Overall 73% Not so much a game as a glorified demo, for those interested in technical excellence.