Those of you who remember the first Repton game will be pleased to hear the author responsible has emerged with yet another gem.

Genius Tim Tyler has taken the best elements from several games and produced a great shoot-'em-up/arcade adventure for the Archimedes.

Loosely based on the classic Thrust, Caverns goes one stage further and adds the complication of having to collect objects and solve puzzles to progress. This all happens under the (constant) force of gravity and therefore requires a lot of skill and patience to succeed.

The first problem is having to collect a rope, and then carry a boulder from one place to another. Sounds easy enough, I hear you cry, but wait. Don't forget the boulder will add more weight, and once it starts to swing...

Level one is close on impossible to finish, without even mentioning the other twenty or so levels. Fortunately, there is a password system, although you only get a password once you've finished a level. The kind people at Minerva gave me the full list of passwords (no, I'm not telling!) and I can confirm your worst fears. Things get worse (in the nicest possible way of course!).

The graphics in Caverns are pretty smooth, although there is an air of 8-bit-ness about them. The loading page appeared to promise solid, shaded 3D-graphics, although things fell flat (sic) in the game. The sound is below par and I would have expected Minerva to do a lot better. Barring that though, the game is challenging, there's lots to do, and it should keep you coming back for that all-important extra go.