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Astro Attack combines shoot-'em-up with maze, but the mix doesn't make much of a game.

The maze is a pretty straight-forward affair, dull grey walls, blocks at the intersections and the occasional pulsating barrier which shouldn't be touched.

Alien ships appear in the maze, up to three at a time on the first level. You clear the screen of nasties and move onto greater things.

This is not too difficult, partly because the ships don't defend themselves. You just latch onto one at a time, follow it round the maze and blast it from behind - unsporting but effective.

The aliens aren't completely dozy, however, and there is some strategy behind how they move, and you must take care to avoid any would-be Kamikaze pilots. I managed to gain an entry in the high score table after just a few attempts and I really don't think the game would pose much of a challenge for your average games freak.

Battle details such as your current score, the high score and elapsed time (counting down from 1000) are shown at screen right. Each alien ship nobbled notches you ten points towards stardom and as you progress the nasties start firing back, just to get even for the first screen. Control is joystick or keyboard, but you can't redefine keys to your own preference.

There are some neat graphics touches - the shimmering barriers and the rotating mothership are handled under interrupt, giving a neat effect, and movement is very smooth.

What a pity then that the programmers use what are little better than block graphics for the ships and the maze.

What a pity too that a little more applied imagination wouldn't have gone amiss. Compared to many a Spectrum game, this just isn't good value at £8.95.