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This game is more in the tradition of recent circus games like Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O' Fun and Circus Attractions than cowboy shoot-'em-ups like Wanted. You kick off with Knife-Throwing. Tie down a defenceless squaw to a rotating target and throw knives at her. You score only by hitting the target and to make it just that bit more iffy... you score more points the closer the knives land to the bikini-clad injun. Hit her and big patches of blood appear (We do have problems with this one, Tynesoft!). Next up is Bronco Riding. This one requires a lot of joystick action and, if you can follow the little arrows which appear on the screen for direction fast enough, you might make a cowboy yet.

Next, we mosey on over to the Stagecoach Rescue. First off, you have to get level with the coach which has fallen into Indian hands. Next, get on to the roof and prepare yourself for some John Wayne fisticuffs.

Calf-steering is a real toughie too. Mount the steer from horseback, grab its horns and force it to lie down. Not only are you racing against a pig-headed piece of meat, you're racing against the clock as well - and the fastest times win highest bonuses. All you've got to do in steer wrestling is to lasso the beast before it gets to the other side of the ring.

And what about Trick Shooting? For the first stage, you shoot a lot of lead at various cardboard cutouts. Blast the baddies to a pulp and you score a lot of points, hit the good guys 'n gals and you're out. It's as simple as that. Level two tests your dexterity with a shooter even further - shooting bottles before they hit the ground.

The game's got some nice touches like the Wild West ditties which play for each contest. Plus you get to make like John Wayne, savour some good graphics and listen to things like the Lone Ranger theme.

Where the game really wins over is in its originality. No doubt, dozes of clones will appear, though whether they reach the same level of varying gameplay remains to be seen. And it is the variety of gameplay that makes this game what it is. The small number of events, mixed with the basic simplicity means that it will be short lived, but then again, nothing lasts forever.

An enjoyable romp, and an excellent venture into an untapped field. I'd check it out.