Throw equal parts of Manic Miner, Defender and Son Of Blagger into your computer and you'll come up with a game that is very similar to Rocket Roger, the latest release from Sheffield-based Alligata Software.
Our intrepid hero Roger has been stranded light years away from Earth without any fuel for his rocket. His only means of escaping from the planet is to collect vital power crystals that are scattered around and beneath the planet.
Basically Rocket Roger is yet another platform game. Collect all of the crystals - there are 99 of them - and you will win. However, there is one difference - Rocket Roger can fly.
Leaving his spaceship, Roger must fly over lava-splitting volcanoes, avoid asteroids falling from the skies and dodge purple space ships. Of course, while doing all of this he must also pick up the crystals that are scattered around on the floor. No easy task.
If you manage to guide Roger through this then you can descend into the depths of the planet and collect the crystals that are below. Of course there are plenty of nasties: moving stairs, sliding doors and force fields which you must avoid.
The actual playing area is much larger than the screen and scrolls around smoothly as you guide our intrepid spaceman on his tortuous journey. All the graphics are well defined and it is definitely worth taking Roger on a trip through the caverns, ignoring the crystals, in order to see them.
One extremely nice feature of this game is the landing pads scattered around the planet. If you land on one of these and then later get killed, your next man will appear on the pad that you last landed on. This is much better than having to keep going to the start, which is what happens in some games.
All in all, an excellent game combining some of the best features from many old favourites.