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Bug Blitz is one of those games that, once played, turns out to be better than you expected, but is still not as good as it should be.

In your absence the planet has been infested by a swarm of mutant boring bugs, (Boring as in digging holes, that it!). The fact that this has to be pointed out on the blurb says a lot about the game.

Bug Hunting begins on the planet surface. An aerial map type display shows your ship the planet surface, and various bits of debris. Shooting the debris earns you points, but the trick at this stage is to hit the fuel and oxygen cannisters. This, for some unexplained reason, tops up your supply of these valuable commodities.

There are only two things to watch out for here, bashing into the walls, which is easier than it sounds because the ship isn't very manoeuvrable, and lasers which zap at you when you're least expecting it. Both these things can be avoided with a little care though.

After tripping around the planet surface for ten minutes or so, you begin to get bored (like the bugs). This would be a good time to search for the entrance to one of eight subterranean caverns. They are marked out by grids and are not too difficult to find.

On entering the grid, you must guide the ship through a 'Mars landing' labyrinth of winding tunnels. If and when you reach the bottom, it's time to have a crack at the bugs with your proton blaster. The bugs, which incidentally, look nothing like bugs, even mutant ones, appear one at a time and dodge around the screen until you zap 'em a few times. Eventually you run out of oxygen and have to return to the planet surface the same way you arrived.

I'm going to slate this on two accounts. For a shoot-'em-up, it lacks any degree of excitement or urgency, which is to my mind the essential ingredient. But the most amazing thing is the game's total lack of identity. It's called Bug Blitz, but it could just as easily have been Rescue On Tharg or Attack Of The Mutant Finkoids. I wouldn't mind betting the authors wrote the game then thought up the title afterwards.