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Peter Lovett has written a new advanced version of the well-known game, Star Trek, which is in many ways the thinking person's Space Invaders, though I do not mean to denigrate all those millions of Space Invader fans. It is true that the idea of the 'Star Trek' game has become rather uninspired lately because of the rather poor quality of many of the ZX81 versions. Thankfully, this trend has come to an abrupt end with the announcement of this new Spectrum version. ZX Trek is a real-time game so no dozing off at the console. I am pleased to say that the documentation is long and thorough, and it needs to be!

Your task is to free the galaxy of the enemy. Sounds easy? Well, it sure ain't. You are situated in endless space. Your own galaxy occupies 100 quadrants within this space. A whole galaxy may sound cushy, but not with up to 70 Klingons, 2,000 stars and just a handful of bases. You have full control of your craft with its advanced computers and its repair crew. If you are attacked then the amount of damage sustained is proportional to the strength of the shields. The onboard computer gives you a full report on the effectiveness of all your equipment. Unfortunately, if the ship's own computer gets damaged then this information may not be totally accurate. Your own crew undertake repairs on any part of the ship, though if you can get to a starbase then the repair can be carried out around four times faster. You have full use of torpedos and phasers, and if by any chance you run out of Dilithium Crystals you can land on a star and search for replacements.

The display makes good use of colour for representation of status, which brightens up the display tremendously. The option of additional sound effects is also provided so that conditions of danger are more obvious.

This is a game which one could carry on playing for hours. I had limited success on level three and dread to think what might happen on the highest of the ten levels, level 9!!! If you are interested in a game in which chance is not the only factor and which you will be able to play again and again without coming up against the same circumstances, then ZX Trek should suit you. I do feel that ZX Trek will find its way into many a home, as it is by far the best version I have seen so far.

By the way, I liked the introductory screen, nothing to do with Star Trek, but definitely stunning.