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This Tehkan coin-op has already done well for Elite on the C64 and the Spectrum. The C64 version is fine but, Oh boy, this version is just unplayable.

The Jack who stars in this game is a sort of super Mickey Mouse. Complete with cape and natty little red suit, he flits around the different screens collecting piles of bombs left lying casually around.

But it's not just a case of collecting the bombs. One of them is about to go off so you have to get this one first. Then another one will flash and so on. I found it nye on impossible to follow the sequence properly. You just don't have the control over Jack to get him safely onto the correct platform.

Needless to say there are several nasties in the game who try to stop you going about your business.

Jack flies through the air by pressing the fire button and pushing the stick forward. This will make a particularly big leap. But once his jump reaches its highest point he will start to sink down again so you have to move him right or left to land on the platform with the next bomb on it.

Pulling back on the joystick is supposed to make Jack fall back down at any point during a jump. At least, that's what it says in the instructions and that's also what happens in the real coin-op. But in the C16 version... forget it.

There are also supposed to be floating coins that you can catch to freeze the nasties and enable you to earn bonus points as you charge around the screen unhindered.

I played the game for hours and didn't spot one bonus coin.

The game was converted to the C16 for Elite by a company called The Conversion Company. My advice to Elite is to convert to someone else quick. Avoid this one - there are better games to be had for much less of the folding stuff.