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Flippin' typical isn't it, you beat the aliens to a charred lump in one game and they or their relatives are back causing aggro in another. Take Vindicators for example, set in the year 2525 you're a brave space cadet on routine patrol when you encounter an alien fleet. Fourteen battle stations are just about to invade Earth - your job is to go through them one by one destroying the control centre of each.

One or two players can participate simultaneously in this battle to become the Earth' s saviour. And the first task is to decide whether to begin on level one, two or three (easy, difficult or simply impossible). Once this is settled it's on with the show, what's that?... what do you get for protection? Well, we ain't likely to send you out there with nothing. Cue vast SR88 Strategic Battle Tanks rumbling onto the scene. These mothers are heavily armed and armoured, and will stand up to most of the flak the aliens throw at you.

Yes, I'm afraid the aliens are heavily armed too. Battle tanks similar to ours patrol each level, and there's fixed gun emplacements, mines and force field generators. Another problem is that your tank guzzles a large amount of fuel (about five gallons to the mile) so look out for supplies or it's game over. Also littering the ground are stars - these can be traded at the end of the current level for a variety of custom weapons and add-ons.

Sad to say I'm not overly impressed by this, mainly because of the rather juddery scrolling and some graphical glitches, like seeing the floor tiles through your tank and blank spaces sometimes appearing on the tiles when objects are picked up. On the plus side the game is quite playable-the enemy tanks, turrets, mines etc present a stiff challenge, but there's nothing special here.

MARK … 59%

'This is the most boring game I've played for ages. The graphics are mundane and uninteresting, sound is minimal, and there is hardly any variation in the gameplay. As a full price game it is extremely poor value for money. It's very easy to play; one game can last for ages; so the addictivity is a tiny insignificant speck of nothingness. A definite no-no.'