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Some Virgin Games products have had exciting publicity and then not really lived up to their promise. However, one of their latest offerings, Falcon Patrol, is a first rate game and Virgin looks set to hit the jackpot with it.

Flying a VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) jet fighter armed with 100 anti-aircraft missiles, your job is to defend fuel and armament installations against enemy aircraft. The enemy come barrelling in with their bombs and must be shot down. The more enemy planes you destroy, the greater the subsequent reinforcements.

The game begins with some stirring chords to put you in the mood for the drama to come. Most of the screen is taken up with an impressive detailed landscape, showing buildings, roads, palm trees, transport and fuel depots. At the bottom left of the screen is the score board, giving current score, highest score and lives remaining. Bottom centre is the radar window showing your current position as a vertical band with moving white dots indicating the whereabouts of enemy aircraft. Fuel and missile information is clearly provided at bottom right.

Your jet gently lands on a fuel base to take on initial supplies. Movement of the joystick has the jet turning and flying in the appropriate direction.

The graphical depiction of the jet is excellent. Flying up or down has the angle of the plane turning in the relevant direction. Executing a sudden U-turn doesn't result in the usual abrupt about-face; instead, the plane slows and turns to the front before moving off in the chosen direction. Altogether, there are seven different views of the plane in flight.

As you fly, a generous landscape scrolls evenly below you and the red enemy fighters swoop across the sky. Bombs hitting buildings or the ground causes fires which go out if you leave the scene for a while. If you touch an enemy place, your jet catches fire and ploughs into the earth. Pressing your fire button releases a missile which blows the enemy plane to bits.

You need to keep your wits about you.

You also need to keep a watch on your remaining fuel and missiles - further supplies are obtained by landing carefully on an appropriate base. The enemy have no scruples about bombing you while you sit serenely on a refuelling base.

Falcon Patrol is a fast-action and compelling game which I highly recommend.