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Loaded down with riches accumulated during the Gold Rush, hundreds of pioneering folk head for the famous West Bank of Dakota to protect their loot from low-lives out to make a quick killing.

Acting as a bank teller, your aim is to take a deposit from behind twelve doors which lead into your office. The character on the other side of the door might have other ideas about this though, so a quick decision must be made as the door opens. Should they be a clean-living farmer or saloon girl, coming to place their hard-earned savings with the bank, take the cash. But should you be confronted by an outlaw brandishing a gun, you must act in the best interests of the bank - and shoot them. If, however, you make a wrong decision and shoot an innocent person, one of three lives is lost.

As cash deposits are obtained, a Dollar sign appears at the top of the screen in one of the twelve boxes corresponding to each door. Only three doors appear at one time, so when these are dealt with, the office wall is scrolled in either direction to reveal three more doors which have not yet been involved in any transactions.

This process continues for two whole days, split into nine stages. Taking all twelve deposits completes a stage, and you are then confronted by three of the local desperadoes after your blood. These outlaws must only be disposed of once they have drawn their guns, points being awarded on the speed with which your assailants are despatched. If you shoot too early however, another life is lost.

When the shoot-out is over, the action continues inside the bank - however, the robbers are more devious and doors close quicker.

Essentially West Bank is a game that tests your reactions and recognition. It may not sound exciting, but it's very compulsive and had me coming back for more, time and time again.

As you progress further into the game the action becomes faster, to keep up with the pace. West Bank is a good package, and well worth a look as it's good value at five quid.

West Bank provides quite a bit of fun at first. The music is very jolly and reaction games such as this tend to be quite compulsive.

However, my interest soon waned as there is little variation. Graphically, West Bank is very smart, with plenty of colour and neatly presented characters - but as to whether you will still be playing in a fortnight's time...

It just took one game of this to put me off. It's completely and utterly *boring*! Having to play it a couple more times "just to make sure" was sheer torture.

West Bank is simple, completely banal and takes tedium to new extremes. There's nothing to do but prod one of the three keys at the right time, then scroll the screen when three cash-toting people have appeared. The program might be regarded cheap at a fiver, but personally I think it's a complete and utter waste of money.

Presentation 60%
Adequate instructions and a few useful options.

Graphics 80%
Large, colourful characters and a neat layout.

Sound 70%
Atmospheric music, but a bit repetitive.

Hookability 75%
Strong initial compulsion due to its simplicity.

Lastability 51%
Playable, but not varied enough to hold the interest for very long.

Value For Money 66%
More than half the fun at half the usual price.

Overall 60%
Good, simple, solid entertainment - for a week at least.