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Computerised pinball has never been a particularly popular genre - and a quick glance at Dragon's Fury is enough to make you see why. Ever since the age-old days of Slamball and Time Scanner, coin-ops and home machines have tried to emulate that seedy tilt-'n-slam pinball feel, but with little success.

In theory, it should work excellently, with the binary format allowing for all sorts of tricks and wizardry that wouldn't be possible on a real machine. Unfortunately, no amount of gimmicks can make up for the fact that pinball on a computer screen just doesn't compare to the exhilaration of a real table.

To its credit, Dragon's Fury actually does a better job than most, with credible ball inertia, and plenty of interesting features - the table is some three screens long and packed with all manner of secret rooms, bonuses and other bits.

Unfortunately, the gothic nature of the graphics (pentangles and mystic runes aplenty) lend a rather depressing and messy feel to the game itself, and as a result it's difficult to really enjoy.

Dragon's Fury is the aesthetic equivalent of a bad headache. Whatever its shortcomings, however, computer pinball has acquired a respectable cult following for itself, and gamers of that persuasion will no doubt find Dragon's Fury to be one of the most impressive examples of the genre.

For the rest of us, however, there are more enjoyable - and less frustrating - bits of plastic on the market.