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Originally released by Rainbow Arts at the same time as the incredible Turrican, this is a more conventional, horizontally scrolling shoot-'em-up in the mould of R-Type. Rather than collect weaponry, however, you buy ships and arm them individually in the pre-level shop where a massive array of orbiting drones and weapons is available - as long as you've got the necessary cash, of course.

The large choice of weaponry brought the most praise when it earned 82% in Issue 61. As Robin said, "Choosing how your satellites will move, and where to place them, is great. And working out which ship to arm, and how, produces great tactical depth."

He was, however, slightly disappointed with the conventional nature of the shoot-'em-up action: "There's a few nice touches, such as the aliens which leave matter trails behind them (as in R-Type) and impressive mid-level and end-of-level baddies, but only the weapons are new."

Nevertheless, he liked the detailed graphics, as did the Scorelord: "The graphic detail is superbly unpleasant, particularly on the end-level monsters."

With eight levels of playable blasting action, X-Out is well worth another look on budget. The only slight niggle is the need to reload the shop after dying on the first level.