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Minter Madness is about to burst onto your screen as cut-price king Mastertronic re-releases the games that made Jeff Minter into a megastar.

Minter might be more famous for his C64 games, but he's always had a soft spot for the 8-bit Atari. Attack Of The Mutant Camels is the game that started it all.

As with all the best shoot-'em-ups, Mutant Camels is easy to play but almost impossible to master. The plot revolves around your attempts to foil the Zzyaxian's evil plot to destroy the Earth.

These dastardly aliens secretly abducted a herd of camels and have genetically engineered them into 90 foot high, laserbolt-firing, neutronium-shielded war machines that now march relentlessly on their path of destruction. Your job is to stop them.

The countries of the world have united to provide you with a small but highly manoeuvrable ship to fly between the deadly beasts, blast them with neutron bolts (thus wearing down their shielding) and finally destroying them - while avoiding their laser bolts.

I found the best tactic was to hurtle towards the first camel (so you don't waste any time), get behind it and blast away.

Naturally, you should avoid the laser bolts but stay as close as possible as you'll score more hits.

In between waves you must survive a hyperspace hurtle through an asteroid belt, so keep your nerve.

Attack Of The Mutant Camels was Jeff Minter's first game and, as far as I'm concerned, it's still the best. Fast, frantic action, now at a budget price. What more could you want?