This is the game that's been talked about before as Liberator. Since then, however, the miraculous new 3D plotting routine has been abandoned (or at least postponed) along with the name. But that is all history - the present is rather better.

I should say the future really, because my version lacks about 97 per cent of the map! - but the three per cent left is something! You view the world from within a spaceship, like Elite or U.I.M., and can fly about between towns on the surface of a rather vulgar green planet.

Nasties shoot green photons at you, and you shoot yellow ones back. The firing aspect looks very nice on screen, since your photons start very big when they're close to you - much better than a stream of white pixels. The explosions are also a treat - nice and big with great volumes of smoke.

For some reason, your ship travels faster backwards than it does forwards, and as a result the computer automatically takes up your altitude to avoid hitting buildings.

Helicopters hover protectively over some towns, and mushrooms grow outside others, five 'mega-photons' being awarded for every dead mushroom.

The scrolling is very smooth, and the action does not appear to slow down in crowded situations.

Your flying saucer (makes you sound like a green Martian!) is able to drive along the ground but there is no noticeable difference between this and flying. Flying backwards is fun, as well as useful.

You can charge into a hostile town, with a fully charged photon-laser, hold down the fire button, and when things get too hot, slam down the reverse key. This is good because, as I mentioned, you are taken up as well - avoiding the green photons.

I won't mention the bugs now because I only have a preview copy, and I'm assured that they'll all be remedied in the final version. Of course, if they're not, you can be sure to hear of them in the full review!

But, as it stands, Apocalypse is full of promise. Gordon Key, who also wrote E-Type and Holed Out! looks set to be third time lucky, having already been first and second as well! By the time you read this, Apocalypse should already be available.