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When dealing with versions of the old arcade classics, there are two approaches: make them as faithful as possible, or jazz them up almost beyond recognition. With Megawarz, Paramount has chosen the latter course and come up with something rather more than just another Asteroids variant.

Your space ship is on the outer edge of the solar system and your mission is to return to Earth, fighting aliens on the way and picking up hitch-hiking astronauts if you can. Successfully defeat the waves of marauding spaceships and you warp inward, planet by planet.

After loading you are presented with a multicolour title screen and a tuneful classical theme. Here you have the option of altering some of the factors including difficulty level, how many ships you get, and at what level you receive a bonus ship. Then it's on with the slaughter.

Throughout, Bach's Toccata plays constantly, an excellent rendition but wearing on the nerves eventually. You have the choice of turning off the sound but then you lose the laser and explosion effects too.

If you've played Asteroids you'll quickly get the feel of Megawarz. Using joystick or keyboard you can rotate your ship through 360 degrees, simultaneously whizzing about the screen. Here, though, you bounce off the sides (no wrap-around). An occasional astronaut appears and if possible you should pick him up.

Destroy the three enemy ships and you go on to a bonus phase where it's a race against time to collect another bunch of astronauts but if you take too long they mutant and come for you with a vengeance. Survive up to this point and you get a little graphics display of your ship zooming off to Pluto.

After this there's more of the same with aliens of different shapes and sizes and you must destroy increasing numbers of waves: two to get to Neptune, three to Uranus and so on.

The aliens change speed and shape and are of the kamikaze variety. Graphics are above average and the sound is superb. Keyboard controls are sensible though you really need a joystick to get the most from it, and there's a hall of fame which plays the 1812 Overture complete with explosions as you enter your name.

Apart from the obvious question of how much of this sort of thing the market wants or needs, there are no grounds for criticism. If you like this kind of fame you'll love Megawarz.