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Arcadia is a super all-action arcade game for the C64. It's got all the features of the best arcade games around so basically it's a high-quality "blast-'em-down" game.

You're responsible for staving off successive waves of alien fighters. To do this you can use the keyboard or joystick to move your spaceship around the screen, firing continuously at oncoming enemy ships.

If you survive an attack wave, the game moves up a level.

Arcadia takes some 18 minutes to load (!), which should give you some idea of the standard of the game. When it's finally in RAM you get a stylish title screen. Then comes an option list from which you can select keyboard or joystick, one or two players and the starting level.

Joystick control is standard but the keyboard controls are a complicated affair. Moving left and right is via the bottom row of keys, alternate keys moving you in opposite directions. The second row of keys give you thrust and any key on the third row fires missiles.

The aliens appear at the top of the screen and descend toward you. Survival depends on avoiding them or, better still, shooting them down. Each level has a time limit and once this is up the next level is started.

The aliens come from different directions on later screens, and they come in a wide variety of shapes and colours which helps to maintain the interest.

Arcadia has a strong addictive quality and is certainly fast and complex enough to keep enthusiasts at it for days on end. It falls down in one area; the screen display is neither as good nor as clear as the earlier Vic 20 version. Nevertheless, it's a very good game and more than worth a try.