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In the current wave of East-West detente, pacifism, peace and goodwill and smiley symbols, Operation Wolf comes as a fresh whiff of cordite to those who enjoy nothing more than a swift bit of genocide.

Arcade-goers will no doubt be more than conversant with Taito's Uzi-modified shoot-'em-up. Unfortunately, Ocean couldn't manage to include a replica of the Israeli 9mm sub-machine gun in the package, but the game suffers surprisingly little despite this apparent deficit.

The aim is war-mongeringly simple: shoot anything that moves (with the exception of panicking natives, and stretcher-bearing nurses... well, usually). The player's viewpoint slowly moves across one of six backdrops, varying from dense jungle and village scenes to the final target of an enemy-occupied airport.

Clearing each scene is accomplished by shooting all the enemy personnel in the area. A display at the bottom of the screen shows the number of men and machines remaining on each level. The player progresses in this way until the fifth scene, the concentration camp, where hostages are released one by one, and must be allowed to run off-screen. In the final chapter, the player gives the hostages covering fire as they attempt to board a moving airliner to freedom.

To make the slaughter go with a bang, the Uzi is fitted with a rocket launcher, and comes complete with a stock of rockets. Ammo for both machine gun and launcher are replenished by blasting the corresponding icons which appear at the bottom of the screen, while the 'F' symbol gives unlimited firepower for an all-too-brief ten seconds. Similarly, the player's injury level can be lowered by shooting the 'P' power drink which also appears, and the complete screen can be cleared in one go by hitting the dynamite.

As with their previous releases, Arkanoid I and II, Ocean have included the option to use a NEOS mouse instead of a joystick. It has to be said that this is the much preferred method of play; it's responsive, accurate and allows the mortars to be launched using the second fire button. The joystick option has been implemented about as well as it could be, but still suffers from being slightly unwieldy and prone to 'oversteer'. There is also the problem of having to reach for the space bar to fire mortars. Thankfully, Ocean have tweaked the game so that it's about as difficult either way.

Accordingly, I can unreservedly advise all those C64 owners with a compatible mouse to rush out and buy Operation Wolf immediately. However, all you joystick wielders (the larger majority by far) should saunter out casually and purchase it at your leisure - and get a mouse too.