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Basketball fans should love this simulation of the game - it's a cracker. One-On-One soon reached the number two spot in the US charts and when you play it, you'll see why. It has some of the most lifelike animation ever seen in a sports game. These players move, dribble and jump like the real thing.

The game features just two players, hence the title, both shooting into the same basket. Who starts off with the ball after a basket depends on the option selected. The animated characters are named after and modelled on two of the best US basketball players - Larry Bird and Julius Irving.

Each has different playing characteristics. Irving is a mite quicker, makes fancier moves, stretches higher and hangs in the air longer. Larry Bird is bigger and stronger, plays the rebounds better and is more skilful at long shots. These qualities are faithfully reflected.

You can take charge of one player while the computer controls the other: naturally, the computer's play is dazzling. There is also a two-player option.

Control couldn't be simpler, yet the manoeuvres and combination movements you can coax from the players are stunning. To see your player spin 180 degrees, dribble past the defender and shoot close in gives a vicarious thrill quite unmatched in any other sports simulation I've seen. You might be the world's worst basketball player, but the two characters are programmed to be brilliant. Boy, does it make you feel good to hurl in a long distance shot from a tight angle and see it sail, sweet as a nut, smack into the basket.

To add to the fun, there is a random replay sequence, a choice of skill levels (the oddball of a referee tends to be fast asleep on the lower ones), some humorous incidents (watch out for the shattering backboard), play up to 21 points or to a fixed time (split into quarters) and selection of who is to have possession after a basket is scored.

All this adds up to one heck of a great game. The animation alone is out of this world. Dribble down to your shop and buy it - you won't regret it.