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The first and least polished, of this triple-helping of upwardly mobile 'shoot to kills' is Gremlin's Typhoon, programmed by Kingsoft.

The action takes place in a window flanked, on either side, by status areas. At the start of each of the 50 zones, you are given the chance to capture a little bonus block containing either an 'x' (extra ship) or an 'e' (extra fire power) as it wriggles down the screen at alarming speed.

Extra fire power takes the form of double laser fire, the ability to destroy whole formations with a single shot, or invulnerability. Each only lasts for a given time, shown as a diminishing scroll bar to the right of the action window. If you miss the bonus block first time round, you get two more chances before it finally gets bored and disappears, no doubt trying to cope with the rejection!

Meanwhile, the alien-bashing has begun in earnest. In the first couple of zones, most of the aliens come from above, but as things get more frantic, you'll find yourself getting attacked from below as well. Each wave must be totally destroyed before you get a crack at the next one. If you don't dispose of all the aliens in a wave within a certain time, they retreat, regroup and attack again.

As the game progresses the alien waves become more intense and aggressive and they definitely seem to find an extra gear from somewhere. By zone eight there are also Xevious-like ground obstacles to avoid and zone nine sees the introduction of floating skulls. These annoying things are not only fatal if touched but also kill if hit by your laser. Skulls are a devious and frustrating addition to the gameplay, especially as they are sometimes the same colour as the aliens you're meant to be knocking off!

Licensed from Germany, the game suffers from a few rough edges which, if finished off with a little more thought and attention to detail, could have turned a reasonable game into a good one. That said, the game is reasonably enjoyable to play, has some addictive qualities and some reasonable sound effects.