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You wait years for a new Acorn Electron game and then four or five come along at once, whether it's in the form of conversions like Tapper and The Hunt: Search For Shauna, or brand new numbers like Python and now Electrobots Going Underground. All of which, and more besides, have been coded up in what seems like record time by 0xcode.

You may remember the original Electrobots game from a few years ago. It was a graphic adventure in which you could switch between three types of robot. However, Electrobots Going Underground isn't a sequel to its namesake - it has the same protagonist but it's a completely different game. And when I say completely different, I really mean it. Gone are the multicolours of the original, EGU is a monochrome number. And instead of the flick-screen exploration of the first outing, you get a smooth vertical scroll. Oh well, at least there are still things to collect, right? Well, yes, but EGU isn't one of those big level games where you collect up all the items to win; it's one of those puzzle games where you have sixteen individual levels to conquer with a few items to collect up on each.

You control your bot with the regular ZX:? keys, and can jump with RETURN. All the action takes place in a window which is the full width of the screen but only about half the height of it. And. Everything. Is. So. Smooth. I mean, you've never seen another game with quite the look and feel of Electrobots Going Underground. The bot doesn't so much move as glide, and the way the vertical scroll keeps pace with him is nothing short of genial; when he falls long distances the scroll even seems to "ease" over the catch up with him. It all looks so professional that you might find yourself genuinely wondering whether you're really running it on an Acorn machine!

As for the levels themselves, they become taxing from the off. Part of the puzzlement is determining in what order to do things, and another part is the art of picking up and then standing on 'barrels' to reach otherwise inaccessible places. Exactly how to do that requires a lot of head-scratching.

OK, there's no getting away from the fact that EGU is "another platform game" (to join the hundreds of others for the BBC/Electron machines). However, something that really distinguishes it from all of its bedfellows is that many routes through the puzzles actually require that you sacrifice some energy. In the vast majority of platform games, you can learn routes around the patrolling nasties whereby you leap cleanly over them every time. But not so in EGU - on many levels, it's clear that you will have to lose some energy, and the skill is in not losing so much that you actually forfeit one of your lives.

There's some pretty nifty coding work going on on both the menu screen (complete with scrolly message) and the announcements when you start each new level. I mean, 0xcode started his tenure with groovy public domain demos on the Beeb so you in a way you almost expect these from him, but they're nice inclusions nevertheless.

With many sequels, the big question is whether the game is better than the original. However, EGU is so completely and totally different that you can't really pose that question, let alone answer it.

In summary, EGU is a stylish, monochrome puzzle game, good for both short bursts of gaming and a longer stint if you want to puzzle it all out. At sixteen levels, it's a relatively short game and it won't be long until you've played it all the way through. And, if the Electrobots have become 0xcode's new heroes, I personally can't wait for their next adventure.