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Vendetta: A private feud between two families. They started it. you'll finish it. The terrorists with whom you first crossed swords in Saigon have just made the biggest mistake of their miserable lives. Now they're going to die! Horribly and painfully!

Your family were once the dream team of the defence department. You were their superstar squad leader who always got results in that nightmare that was 'Nam. Your brother was the leader of scientific weapons research. Then, after a clash with some stuffed-shirt top brass, you were busted down to the rank of civilian. Only your Bro' and his daughter kept the faith, and with their help you pulled through. But the very same forces you fought in the jungle have returned to haunt you in the city. They've kidnapped your brother and niece in a bid to steal military secrets.

The police think you did it, the army think you did it. Only you know that they did it. Now it's a question of proof! Vendetta takes you on the vengeance trail, trying to piece together the clues and rescue your loved ones.

The world of Vendetta is a 3D land where you can walk around objects, pick them up and use them. The heroic ex-Green Beret can search and punch anything he finds, but there's no hanging about, there's a real strict time limit. The first building he arrives at is the warehouse. This must be ransacked to provide the necessary answers. There are computers that need disks, crates that need crowbars and many other items, useless when nabbed but essential later on.

As well as the whereabouts of your kith and km, you also desperately need to find the car keys. Finding the motor (yet another Ferrari F40!) is no problem, but opening and starting it prove a much tougher proposition. Success is vital, as the only way to progress from level to level is via a driving sub-game. In this excellent twist it isn't dying that's on your mind but time. If you dawdle here it cuts into the time for next level. The trail continues as the Vendetta is fulfilled. Location leads to location and the clues fit together, building into incontrovertible evidence proving your innocence. Each section is punctuated by another driving section for variety.

Of course, the terrorists aren't kindly disposed to your snooping about and planning rescues. So they try to stop you with a subtle blend of outright aggression and extreme violence. All you've got to fight with at the beginning is your bare hands and a boy scout knife. Not an impressive arsenal for a highly trained psycho killer! So the first essential is a gun. There are plenty lying around the place, but you need an authorisation pass and some bullets before it's time for some rootin' tootin' shootin'.

With too much to do and not enough time to even think about how to do it, Vendetta walks a tightrope of tension and frustration. If you make it through a section with seconds to spare, then you breath a sigh of relief, die at the hands of a thug and and curses fill the air.

The graphics are simply, plainly and basically Speccy monotones. This can cause problems when it comes to finding things, but the eye soon becomes adjusted. It's also disconcerting when you find that certain paths are blocked by invisible walls - just try walking around the car! These problems don't actually hamper you, as the essence of Vendetta is learning where items are and the correct, i.e. quickest, way to bag them all. So the wandering is rendered redundant after a few sorties on each level.

It has the mind-melting level of frustration that make these games such a challenge and as such is the best example yet of the Last Ninja II genre of 3D hide and seek. A specialised taste, it will take many gamers by storm. But it will only catch on if you can devote hour after hour to retracing your steps, trying to get the combination of item collection right. If you let it get under your skin the Vendetta could well end up being between you and your CPC!

A bit of a plod if you're not into isometric 3D puzzlers, but a polished example of the genre.

Finish Level One.

It's all monochrome so no bother!

Graphics 61%
P. Very detailed.
N. Very monochrome.

Sonics 66%
N. Reasonable music and effects.

Grab Factor 63%
N. Highly irritating for the first timer.

Staying Power 92%
N. There's one real solution...
N. ...can you find it?

Overall 73%
N. Monochrome pics with very colourful gameplay.