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There are good space games and bad space games. Defender is still one of the best and is justifiably emulated on many micros. Here's the first version for the Oric, and it's good enough to be the standard to beat.

Flying your multi-directional space fighter, you must defend the hapless humanoids against capture by fifteen different types of marauding alien.

By far the best cassette inlay I've ever seen, the game has an attractive cover, crystal clear loading instructions, captioned pictures of all the fifteen aliens, and game rules which are exceptionally well laid out.

The game starts with a colourful title sequence. Options are there to suppress the sound effects, display the Hall of Fame, play a beginner's game or get straight into the action.

Against a starry backcloth and above a mountainous terrain, you pilot your ship through the sky. Technicolour laser beams burst from the ship every time one of the sensibly placed movement-control keys is pressed or released.

At the top of the screen, beside the large scoreboard, is a radar screen indicating the approach of the enemy. Humanoids fall from the sky then stay put where they land. Vulture-like aliens, Vultrae, will try to abduct the humans - they must be shot down before they reach the top of the screen. When all humans are captured, the game transfers to an astral plane where all the enemy turn to wraiths.

Besides the Vultrae, there are fourteen other types of aliens zooming across the screen. Contact with any of these (or a human) results in the destruction of your ship (you have two spare). A shield button gives temporary respite from enemy bombs - the screen turns blue while the shield is active and to red when the shield's power is about to expire.

There are twenty waves to contend with, each one harder than the last. Wave 20 contains a Cybotroid, quite the worst of the foes you come up against.

The ship responds immediately to the keyboard but firing puts a strain on your fingers - there's no repeat fire mechanism.

A colourful, testing game with great sound effects. Definitely one for the collection.