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After a dearth of Atari-only releases in the UK, it was with high anticipation that I loaded up this new game from the US Gold stable.

Drop Zone was well worth the lonely vigil - it's a humdinger. Although basically a reworking of our old friend Defender, the game has a lot of new material and is the best Atari all-action shoot-out I've seen in many a moon.

You fly a space craft at light speed over a planet surface, zap assorted aliens and rescue your beleaguered buddies.

However, it's you that's flashing around the heavens, clad in a natty rocket-powered space suit. And instead of a boring old zig-zagging line representing mountainous terrain, you get a high-resolution, fully-detailed layout of the planet's buildings and surface as a fighting background.

Foreign bodies abound. Some begin as a gnat-cloud of molecules that join up to become one of several species of adversary. Planters and Nemesites are green, gyrating, non-intelligent, bug-eyed pods. Nmeyes are vicious, pink blancmanges which home in on you unerringly.

Even more diabolical are the Blunder Storms, Spores, Trailers and Anti-Matter, all with their own special characteristics and all out to make your sojourn as brief, but as memorable, as possible.

Your spaceman can fire furious non-stop bursts from his laser gun while three smart bombs (which destroy every nasty in sight) come in handy in a tight corner. A temporary cloaking device lets you pass unhindered through the gathering swarms of aliens to continue your mission.

The main aim is to rescue little starfish-shaped men and drop them into a safe building on the surface. There are many successive waves to pass through, each wilder than the last.

Movement of aliens, landscape and the hero is silk-smooth, the pace fast and frantic. The sound effects and graphics are superb. When your spaceman is hit, he turns orange, pulsates briefly, then explodes loudly into a glorious starburst.

For excellent sound, brilliant graphics and a great all-action challenge, shop around no more. Drop Zone will have you on the edge of your chair and shredding your lower lip. Never mind the aliens, you'll be the one that's bug-eyed. A wow.