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Nearly two years ago, Carrier Command burst onto the ST scene and received more accolades than Dolly Parton at a cleavage contest. Realtime Designs, the programming team responsible for that mega game, have been locked in an attic slaving away on the sequel. The result is now finally ready for public viewing and the main surprise is, your aircraft carrier's been traded in for a more economical vehicle - a tank.

Battle Command is a shoot-'em-up cum strategy game. You are in command of a small and nippy Mauler tank and your job is to complete a total of twelve missions. To do this, you have to learn all about the weapons systems of your tank. You also need to know how to outfox the enemy - when to stay and fight and when to run and hide.

The game world is represented in solid, full colour 3D. Initially you see the world from inside your tank, with all the instrumentation at hand, but you aren't restricted to sitting at the wheel: you can also view the tank from any angle outside it.

The style of the missions varies to suit all players. If strategy is your idea of fun, you can spend two hours sat on a hill waiting for a convoy. If blasting the hell out of an entire tank division seems more like it, you can strap the old rising sun to your forehead, load up the cannon and motor out looking for trouble.

Once you decide on a suitable mission, you can check the briefing and map screens. These show you your objectives and where exactly you're got to get to and from. It's a very good idea to read them carefully, since you're likely to be under fire from the moment you're dropped into the war zone.

There are four weapons pods on the Mauler and these can be filled with either offensive or defensive weapons, in any combination according to your tastes. There are seven offensive weapons to choose from, varying from missiles to bombs. The defensive weapons come in four flavours, including the usual chaff and decoy flares.

When you're kitted out, a large helicopter drops you into the war zone. You take control of the Mauler by clicking the right mouse button. Pressing the left button fires whichever weapon you have selected. Moving the mouse backwards or forwards accelerates or reverses the tracks.

Solid 3D graphics have rarely looked as good, or moved as fast, as in Battle Command. Attention to detail is spot on, with trees, hills and enemy vehicles all looking the part. Animation is smooth and rapid, and what's more there's no appreciable slowdown when a lot is happening on the screen. The static screens - the ones which enable you to choose weapons, for example, or look at the map - are all well drawn and functional.

Sound is fairly sparse - in fact, the only time you really hear anything is when you're under fire. You know when a missile hits you because of the sound, so in that sense it works fine.

Battle Command certainly comes up with the goods. It's very high quality, from the hi-tech weapons to the fast animation. The starter mission eases beginners in, but there's still enough depth in there to keep even the most ardent games-player happy for a while. Whereas previous games by this team had only one objective, Battle Command has twelve - and what's more there's little probability of you successfully completing a mission the first time you try it. If you've got a bit of Christmas money left, buy this - you'll still be playing it next Christmas!