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Even before the Wall came tumbling down a game called Tetris sneaked out of Russia and proved a phenomenal worldwide success. In fact, it was so popular on home computers that it was converted into an arcade machine.

The game involved slotting together a series of shapes by rotating and placing them like a moving jigsaw puzzle. Like all good games, Tetris spawned a number of clones, none of which really came close to the original. Blockout is the latest in a long line of Tetris look-alikes, but it differs from the original because it takes place in a 3D tunnel.

The opening menu enables you to choose a number of options including which variation of the game you wish to play, practice mode, help, see the demo and a save settings option.

The various game types are "Flat Fun", "3-D Mania" and "Out of Control". You can create your own customised versions of the games and these can be saved to disk. The games vary in difficulty from the relatively easy to the keyboard destroying.

Other parameters can be adjusted to make the game harder or easier. The length and width of the tunnel can be changed, an extended set of blocks used to increase the difficulty, and block rotation can be slowed down or speeded up.

The game is controlled via the keyboard and mouse. The keys Q W E and A S D control the blocks rotation in three dimensions. The mouse positions the block at the mouth of the tunnel and the button sends it down to where you positioned it. Every time a layer is completely filled in, it drops off the bottom of the tunnel: the game is over when the pieces reach the mouth of the tunnel.

The first game type, "Flat Fun" is fairly simple and offers a good way of easing into the game. The shapes are simple and don't have awkward extensions, making this section very similar to Tetris. When this becomes too easy the extended set of blocks can be used. This introduces some fairly unusual shapes which take some effort to fit together. If it proves too hard, the tunnel can be lengthened giving you more time.

"3-D Mania" has a set of blocks with extensions in all diretions. Some pieces extend as much as three layers towards the player which means you have to think fast to get all the pieces in place.

"Out of Control" is by far the toughest of the options becasue it includes really weird shapes which are almost impossible to slot together. However, should you have a brain the size of a planet you can always use the extended block set. For people with a brain the size of a games reviewer, "Flat Fun" is probably your best option.

The graphics in Blockout are pleasing, though the tunnel is a trifle bland. The blocks are wireframe at the mouth and enable you to see all its dimensions.

The 3D manipulation of the blocks can't be faulted because the speed can be changed to suit the tastes and ability of the player.

Sound is monotonous and can fortunately be turned off from the options menu.

Blockout is simple to operate and the simultaneous use of mouse and keyboard means manipulation of the blocks is fast and easy. When it comes to dropping blocks into the right place, however, it's more a matter of luck than skill, because lining them up to fall correctly is mindnumbingly tricky.

It's an amusing puzzle game and a lot of time has been spent on its design. Although it's a simple game, Tetris proved that simple concepts can be real killers. Whether it's going to rival the forthcoming Welltris remains to be seen, but early demos suggest that it has a lot to live up to.