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Once again, Domark take to the skies, with the sequel to their widely-acclaimed MiG-29. Created by the same programming team, known as the Kremlin, MiG-29M SuperFulcrum has a lot to live up to. With such a good predecessor, the judging standards are higher and the tests tougher. How do you improve upon perfection?

Initial impressions of SuperFulcrum are underwhelming. In fact, Format readers may think they've paid nearly 40 quid for last month's Cover Disk demo. At first glance, the only differences seem to be the addition of a rather poorly drawn map and a short "fly-by" intro sequence with squeaky ST sound-chip accompaniment. Definitely not a spell-binding start.

Digging deeper - by hitting the start button - you find a program which, although still not looking overly tweaked since the demo version, has plenty of opportunities for the airborne joyrider. The landscape is laid out as per the demo, but there are many more buildings, runways, bridges and depots to fly over and bomb the hell out of.

At first, you look at it and think, "That's not so big - I can clear that up in minutes," but the truth starts to emerge once you've been bashed about a few times. SuperFulcrum is tough. Getting up is easy enough - just a matter of "hitting the heaters" and pulling back the stick. Even navigation is simple, with your three-range radar and target designator after a short interval - why this happens is anybody's guess. Surely modern missile-targetting systems lock on and stay locked on until you clear them - not give up when they're bored. This problem appeared in the original MiG-29 and it's a real pain to find it's still with us.

The bombing and strafing of targets on the ground is a strangely satisfying experience, and I shall be consulting my psychiatrist about it later. It's suitably pulse-quickening to launch a death-defying dive-bomb attempt firing dump, unguided rockets into a bright while travelling at around 500km/h. The dry sensation in your mouth as you look out of the back window and see the cracked sections of the roadway fall into the water must be something like the real thing.

Engaging enemy aircraft is similarly realistic. Drop your airspeed to reduce the size of your turning circle and pull hard to loop round behind your opponent. Keep a lock on him, using the air-to-air missiles, and gradually pull in closer behind until the target destinator turns red. Then fire with the mouse right button or the Spacebar and watch your missile explode as it hits. Great plumes of smoke pour out of your opponent's plane - a sure sign that he's heading fast along the "down" escalator. Don't be tempted to follow.

The hardest part by far is getting your bird down once you've made it back home (assuming you don't run out of gas on the way - the MiG-29M is a guzzler when the burners are alight). The gut-wrenching, sweaty-palms feeling you invariably succumb to on your final approach is second to none. On joystick control the plane is a bit more stable (though not so "chuckable" in dogfights) compared to the mouse, which reacts to your jittery fingers. With practice, you hear the squeak of tyres on the runway and still have to kill the engines and hit the wheelbrakes. Then you can let out the breath you realise you've been holding in since you first saw your home base again.

The burning question on everyone's lips is, "Is it better than MiG-29?" The answer is not really a clear yes or no. Sure enough, there are parts which have been uprated - the cockpit layouts and some of the new enemy objects. And there are parts which should have been uprated that haven't been - the target designator and the colour of the HUD numbers, which conflicts with the ground colour.

Overall, SuperFulcrum is a great game with bags of excitement and tension, but it's seriously overpriced for what it is. Okay, so you can install it on hard drive and you get a free 50 page book on Military Jets (by military-book specialists Salamander) but nearly 40 quid is pushing it.

Considering that there is only one battle scenario - a big one, mind you - and it's essentially the same as its predecessor, SuperFulcrum is not as worthwhile as certain other Soviet "happenings" this year. Oh well, comrades, perhaps we need to explore the old capitalist ethic of "more bang for your buck" a little closer next time.

1. Not enough advancements from the older MiG-29 game.
2. Lacks the "spit and polish" of Falcon or F-19 Stealth Fighter.
3. Superb flying and fighting action, with all the original MiG-29's controllability.
4. Exciting and accessible, but overpriced with it.