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Archaeology isn't the most promising idea for an arcade game - but digging up bits of pottery was never anything like the activities you face in Pastfinder.

This latest offering from Activision is an action-packed, science fiction shoot-'em-up which raises the standards of C64 graphics yet again. The animation and backgrounds are nothing short of brilliant.

You are at the controls of a Leeper, a spinning, bounding vehicle equipped with a number of tools not usually associated with the search for the past: lasers, anti-radiation protection and anti-missile gizmos.

The scenario puts you on the surface of a strange planet. You must seek out ancient artifacts and deliver them to a number of bases scattered around the surface.

At the beginning you see only a small portion of the territory on a separate map screen. As you explore, more of the map is revealed.

Hindering your efforts is a collection of not very sociable types who will go to great lengths to end your interest in the past, present and future. Moving walls, aerial mines, enemy ships that either fire at you or simply attempt to ram you are just some of the hazards, not to mention radiation.

Having selected a promising direction for exploration you must navigate a short section. If you survive and reach the opposite site you get a bonus based on how little radiation you've absorbed. There are lots of opportunities to score points - almost as many as the ways of losing a life.

The game scenario is interesting and extremely well thought out, but the great part is the graphics, which are projected from above and behind your Leeper (a bit like Pole Position). You manoeuvre through a scrolling landscape, judging the view by the shadows cast by the objects.

In later sections the hazards come thick and fast, in solid, brightly coloured displays.

If there's any justice Pastfinder will be a massive success.