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Crazy Comets is a throwback to the 'good old days'... back to the time when you could unwrap, say, a Llamasoft tape and relax with a barefaced shoot-'em-up without any thoughts of tackling the likes of Elite.

To say that this game from Martech relies on a simple concept is a bit of an understatement; really there's next to nothing in it. It even loads in less time tan it takes to flex your trigger finger! But if you accept if for what it is an arcade conversion of, and are not averse to the joystick becoming welded to your right hand, then enjoyment is just a few inches of ferric oxide away.

The endless task in front of you is the annihilation of berserk galactic matter. Heavenly bodies, comets and satellites have to be snuffed out before they wreak havoc throughout the universe. Right at the start of each round, cosmic dust starts to spiral and swirl around your wedge-shaped destroyer. Multi-colour orbs sweep in, growing in size the longer your photon bolts take to reach their target. Need I say that collisions at this stage are pretty catastrophic so you need to bob and wave as you pump in the shots. Stray space capsules can be rescued for bonus points. Perfect rounds? That's when you eliminate everything, before they become supernova. I suppose there are limitless rounds, each basically identical.

The soundtrack is only a sniff away from being fantastically good; it really matches the action and if Simon Nicol is responsible for the music as well as the game then Martech should corner him right now.