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Take the basic idea behind the game Gauntlet, dress it up in the style and trappings of the movie Aliens, add a couple of clever, never-before-seen ideas, and what have you got...?

OK. The instructions have been conscientiously surveyed, the story disk has been politely sat through and Alien Breed is loading up for the first time. From your newly acquired understanding of the scenario all that can be deduced is that you, as player one, are stepping into the ominous shoes of a character called Johnson, your player-two type chum from across the road is taking the role of a bloke called Stone, and you are fictitiously winging your heroic way to Intex Space Research Centre Number 4 (ISRC-4) not quite knowing, both in and out of the plot, what to expect. What will you find there? What do you have to do once you've got there? And indeed, exactly what type of game are you playing? The story disk and instruction booklet set the scene nicely but are more than a little cagey about actually revealing anything of any use, such as oooooh what you actually have to do. For all you know, you could be just about to dive innocently into a two-player Gauntlet-style overhead shoot-'em-up where you have to shoot lots of aliens and accomplish a particular task per level. And what do you know...?

Flying somewhat rebelliously in the face of convention, I am now going to (shock horror!) start talking about the graphics this early in the review. You never know, I might even score score points (or get a pay rise) for originality. You see, graphic-wise Alien Breed ranks far above 'quite good'. Miles above in fact. As opposed to walking around on a large void (as in Gauntlet), here a smoothly scrolling floor actually exists with, if you look carefully, seemingly helpful messages scrawled on it pointing you in what one hopes is the right direction. And there is relief too (of the bumps to walk over and - on later levels - ducts to traipse along kind); just one of the nice touches liberally sprinkled throughout the game. The sprites are excellently drawn too; both your own characters who waddle along convincingly and the aliens (who bear an uncanny resemblance to the monsters from Aliens the film) who give a sadistically satisfying orange glow when shot.

Ironically, the authors suggest in the blurb that, when producing Alien Breed, their aim was to come up with something which wouldn't look out of place in an arcade - I would venture to suggest that they have come as near as feasibly possible to succeeding. They also suggest connecting your Amiga to a hi-fi and playing in the dark for that added atmospheric touch. It worked - the eerie rumblings and digitised FX (including speech) had me hiding underneath the duvet in sheer terror at times (I was playing in bed as I couldn't be bothered to get up yet). In fact, if the authors had suggested that gameplay would be enhanced yet further by playing in the nude with your left foot in a bowl of custard, then I would probably have done that as well.

One of the more innovative angles on the gameplay of Alien Breed is that you are never quite sure of your ultimate goal - each level plays as a separate mission unravelling a little more of your final objective as you go. Level one is more of a warm-up providing a taster of what's in store than anything - you have to simply get from A to B (where A is outside your ship, and B is the deck lift). No problem, as this is simply a matter of walking directly left, although it would be a handy idea to wander around a bit to try to pocket extra ammo, keys and credits (for purchasing equipment) in advance for subsequent levels too.

Righty ho, then, and off to level two. This involves C (the deck lift) and D (the core computer) with you feverishly attempting to get from the aforementioned C to D, initialise D, then return hastily back to C again before D explodes. The map is large but (as in all levels) divided into zones; pass through them in order to reach the computer in zone six. This is yet another well thought out touch to the game - you can wander round completely lost, but at least you know when you are making progress, and when the levels become more familiar, quicker routes can be found. Also making an appearance are one way doors which, you guessed it, only let the player through in one direction and which, unlike normal doors, require no key to unlock them, whilst fire doors shut permanently if shot at.

A good question. And one I intend to answer in something not a million miles away from a specially expanded version of The Bottom Line box thingy.

1. The graphics and sound are highly commendable, as already mentioned. So in that case we, er, don't need to mention them again.

2. The game is very, very atmospheric, and full of sneakily clever pieces of programming which almost subconsciously help to hold your attention. Once the core computer has been reached in level two, the screen glows red, a computerised voice announces "destruction is imminent" and you have one minute to scoot back to the deck lift. Yikes! No-one told you this before - or else you would have made a note of the route back. But next time...

2. Something that the majority of games suffer from is that early levels become a hassle and having to plough your way through them each time does not exactly increase your overall enjoyment. Not so here. Completing a level most certainly does not mean that you have fully explored it, leaving large proportions of the maze not checked. Next time you visit it there will be plenty of opportunities to look round for extra goodies to pick up.

3. So Alien Breed is a shoot-'em-up, it's a maze game, but one thing that has ceased to be mentioned until now is that there is also a strategic element to it. Credits can be picked up during the game and spent after logging into one of the Intex system computers to be found regularly during each level. But what do you spend it on? Extra ammo? Or perhaps you want to buy a more effective weapon? And do you get it now, or do you save up and buy something else (perhaps something even bigger and better) in a minute? (If you last that long, that is!). Decisions, decisions, decisions.

1. It's a bit too tricky, as the shoot-'em-up elements of the game aren't balanced in the player's favour. The baddies have to be repeatedly shot - it's not a case of one shot to kill - and this does not quite seem to suit. The introduction of destructible alien generators would have helped because, as it is, aliens appear indefinitely which is extremely annoying.

2. In a frustrating number of cases I found myself trapped with no keys, and not enough cash to buy my way out and hence (rather monotonously) was forced to spend considerable time just killing for cash. And in two player mode, the players can become separated from each other by doors with nothing that can be done about it, for which there really is no excuse.

Alien Breed is far from being an original concept, but it has been executed with such flair and excitement and so many new ideas that all accusations of unoriginality pale into insignificance. And as ever, the fun squillion-druples if a friend joins in thanks to all the usual reasons, including the fact that it actually becomes a lot easier to play.

From a highly personal personal point of view, I liked Alien Breed a lot, but it is probably not the sort of game that would appeal to absolutely everyone. As mentioned, it is very tricky and plays a lot less randomly than other Gauntlet-esque shoot-'em-ups; the layout of each level has to be committed to memory as the map provided is not entirely useful. This may seem like a hassle at first, but it helps give the game a far greater feeling of realism and - yes - desperation that we're used to. Alien Breed is one of those games that - once you've got stuck into - you're likely to be playing for some considerable length of time.

Uppers: Outstanding graphics and sound, lots to do, familiar Gauntlet-style gameplay given a number of new twists, and bags of atmosphere. In fact, this could be one of the most atmospheric games ever.

Downers: It's a bit hard, and in that annoying way which slightly deters you from wanting to play it any more. And it may be partially lacking in ridiculously instant appeal.

A very sophisticated game exploiting the ability of the Amiga to its fullest in both looks and gameplay (It's one meg only, incidentally) and proves to be great fun to play - especially with two players. Team 17, ex-PD people, have got the visual side and basic ideas spot on - they just need to work now on making their games ever so slightly less exasperating.