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This one's a bit of a mystery! Sneak released by Martech to our surprise, programmed by Michael Archer (who I feel I ought to recognise, but don't), this is an arcade player's dream Beeb game!

Perhaps I've not been in the arcades enough recently, but this has the look, the feel and the playing style of an arcade shoot-'em-up - a relatively small playing area, surrounded by graphics, with a slow and steady vertical scrolling landscape in the playing window.

Of course, it is a space game in which you must shoot a variety of aliens as you travel over a planet's surface and then penetrate the built-up defences. Like Psycastria, you must shoot buildings and defences whilst avoiding others and, like Galaforce (for instance), you must learn the patterns of the alien waves.

The graphics are superb - very, very smooth and detailed. The sound is a satisfying collection of destructive noises. The game is excellent but, as if that were not enough, there are actually two games on the disc! Both are very similar with, naturally enough, the second being much harder.

I would expect Arcade readers to rush out and buy this game, write in demanding tips and be boasting about high scores very soon. In a year in which shoot-'em-up fans have already been treated to Galaforce and Psycastria, it was almost too much to hope for yet another instant classic!

What is also very encouraging is that, although it obviously draws on elements of other games, W.A.R. shows a new angle on an old theme. It's not an easy game to master, but it's a lot of fun trying!