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An addiction you really won't want to kick.

Loathing, frustration, paranoia; the belief that someone up there is really out to spoil your day. All of those who, bored with the excessive finger ache of the old shoot-'em-ups, took the playing pastures of Tetris for a spot of light relief, will understand all of these emotions completely. All of those who make the wise move of going to the shops to add Klax to their games collection will soon be joining the list.

Using an incredibly simple concept, Domark has come up with something in Klax that is going to be mindblowingly successful. All you have to do is watch as the coloured tiles roll towards you, catch them on your paddle, and then flip them down into the bins to make stacks, rows and diagonals of three tiles of the same colour.

Making your debut on stage one, you'll be lulled into thinking you're on an easy ride here. The tiles amble towards you slowly and, after all, you only have to make three Klaxes to qualify. A piece of cake.

Once you progress to the higher levels, however, you'll start cursing the day you ever considered buying the game. Level two requires five Klaxes and already the tiles are beginning to speed up.

Setting up diagonals in level three will pose real problems for the novice, while the required total of 10,000 points in level four is enough to daunt even the most. seasoned Klaxer.

There are 99 levels in all, and you're certainly not going to see half of them off in a hurry. No, you're going to keep coming back to this time and time again, each time believing that the elusive tenth Klax can be done.

Quite apart from the addictive challenge, you'll need a large amount of strategy in your quest for Klaxes. In the earlier stages, you have a speed-up option to bring the tiles racing towards your paddle, and you can store up to five titles on your paddle at any one time, enabling you to plan your moves well in advance.

An extra bonus is the ability to flip tiles back up onto the table, allowing you to wait for tiles of the same colour to come together. Don't hang about though, those tiles will keep on coming and if you drop one, it is noted on the drop meter. Drop too many and the game's over.

On each of the later levels, you can chase bonus points by lining up cross Klaxes or multiples, although as a beginner, just coping with the basic requirements is enough to drive you mad.

Already a success in the arcades, this coin-up has been converted marvellously onto the CPC. If you can take the pace and lick the frustration, get out and start Klaxing now.