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Life is full of problems for young Jason. His life took a distinct downturn from the moment his beloved pet frog escaped into the garden. This alone would have been bad enough, but then the unfortunate creature happened to jump into the barrel of atomic waste stored at the end of the lawn. Such a sudden and huge exposure to radiation caused something of a change in his froggy metabolism and the slimy amphibian began to grow into a creature of Digby the Biggest Dog in the World-ean proportions. To complete his master's misery, the green-skinned wonder then hopped down a hole to a dangerous underworld of sewers, robots and death traps.

Not wanting to lose his pride and joy, Jason immediately followed his Kermit-like chum into the rift, braving whatever dangers should face him.

Luckily Jason is not defenceless. At the bottom of the deep shaft the boy discovered an alien tank waiting for him, complete with a full set of body armour and complement of personal weapons!

Blaster Master is based on a book about the adventures of Jason and his tank in an underground world hitherto unseen. The game is split into two parts. One is a four-way scrolling platform game in which you control the tank. The second gives you command of Jason himself as he enters sewerage drains in his search for the missing frog.

The game kicks off with you in your tank scouring the underworld for drain entrances. Your tank is quite an agile number and is capable of jumping around and turning on a sixpence. It also has a rather large gun which can be fired to the fore, at a forty-five degree angle to the sky or straight overhead for accurate blasting maythem. Not only this but it can travel freely underwater too!

When Jason nears an entrance to a tunnel, press the Select button to have him jump out of his vehicle in readiness to go through the door. When he enters the tunnel the view changes from the normal scrolling platform scene to a three-quarters overhead view in which Jason runs around searching the landscape for bonses, extra weapons and the boss, which can take him a step closer to his lovely frog.

Although the cannon which the tank possesses is useful enough, it pales in comparison to the other weapons which are available if Jase is lucky enough to collect them.

Lightning bolts are the feeblest. These surround the tank in swathes of electricity. This weapon is powerful enough but the range is limited. Homing rockets are also there for the asking. These intelligent mega-missiles latch onto the nearest prey and follow them to the bitter end.

Missile barrages are another handy tank bolt-on. Collect this icon and four rocket pods are activated allowing you to wreak mass destruction on all and sundry.

If Jason is to rescue his chum he must be prepared to cheat. The first end-of-level boss is a huge brain surrounded in tentacles. This cranial marauder takes so many hits to kill that his whirling balls of plasma often get the better of Jason.

Luckily the boy has an infinite supply of grenades to add to his laser pistol. Fire one of these at the mosnter and pause the game. Watch how the explosion continues for as long as the game is paused!

Do this a few times and your grey matter related difficulties should present themselves no more.

After numerous cancelled release dates, Blaster Master is finally about to hit the shops - and about time too! It's an absolutely brilliant platform/adventure game which I've been playing on and off since we first got it in over a year ago.

It's packed full of excellent features, has superb gameplay and lots of neat touches - the way the tank moves and works is great! What kept me playing was the sheer size of the game - there's loads in there to discover, from secret screens to alternative routes around the map, and every time you play you seem to find something new.

Blaster Master is definitely the best platform/exploration game seen for months and should be put at the top of your shopping list.

Blaster Master was released in Japan and America some time ago and now it's finally reached these shores. It really was worth the wait because it's such an excellent title.

The animated intro which tells the story is somewhat strange and things don't get any more sensible from there. Luckily the surrealism doesn't get in the way of the game itself. Blaster Master is a big game which takes some exploration. Even when you know the right way through a level there's always more rooms and bonuses to discover.

It's also very enjoyable to play, there's lots to do and plenty going on at all times so the pace is always fast and frenetic. The cute graphics aren't as sickening as you might expect and add to the bizarre tone of the proceedings, with the accompanying sound effects and tunes promoting the atmosphere still further.

Blaster Master is definitely one of the best of the current batch of NES games and should be added to your collection forthwith.

Presentation 70%
Nice animated intro but no options. The in-game presentation is superb.

Graphics 81%
The sprites are detailed, well animated and colourful, and the backgrounds are unobtrusive.

Sound 79%
The tune sets the mood of the game perfectly and there are some good effects to go with it.

Playability 92%
There's lots to see and do, plenty of levels and loads of variety.

Lastability 88%
The size, challenge level, variety and enjoyability of the game should keep you involved for ages.

Overall 91%
A great title which, although it offers nothing stunningly new, is a lot of fun to play and represents great value for money.