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Wizworld was once famous as the most beautiful and colourful place in the universe, a world so pretty not even the Prince of Wales could moan about its architecture. But then came the evil Zark, whose hideous henchmen drained the world of all its colour. Only the Wiz, and his faithful cat Nifta, can restore the world to its former glory.

To ready himself for combat, the Wiz shrinks down into a ball, initially capable of only bouncing left or right and firing. But after collecting some pearls, one being deposited after a wave of aliens have been destroyed, the Wizball can be customised. As pearls are collected, icons are lit up above the screen, waggle the joystick and the icon is activated. To start with anti-grav removes gravity allowing free movement, then more powerful weapons such as multi-directional firepower and a smart bomb can be added.

And then there's Nifta, also in a ball, which can either follow behind the wizball firing or, when fire is held down, be moved around by the joystick. Nifta is vital as he's the only one who can collect the drops of colour deposited when colour bubbles are shot.

Once fully armed, you have to collect red, green and blue drops to restore colour to a level. There are also black drops (making everything go dark), blue drops (causing a 'Filth Raid' with six ships swiftly attacking) and purple drops sending the cat insane. These are all too easy to pick up in the heat of battle!

Wizworld comprises eight levels, stacked vertically with connecting holes and tunnels, and each either a red, blue or green bubbles - forcing you to move between them if you're to get enough of each to restore colour on a level. Once you do restore colour, there's a bonus level where all the aliens attack you. Lives can't be lost here, only gained if you shoot enough aliens. When you finish this level, there's a neat animated display of Wiz mixing the colours in a cauldron.

And if any of this sounds a bit too complex, don't worry! There's a simple solution - buy the game! After a few goes, everything becomes obvious, though never easy, and totally addictive. One of the most original games ever written, it's also among the best shoot-'em-ups ever to grace home computers. The graphics are good, the sound is incredible with a brilliant intro tune and superb spot FX, but the main thing is the great playability. Once you get into Wizball, there's no getting out. Quite simply one of the compulsory purchases for any self-respecting C64 owner!