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Ask any non-computer or video games player to name a video game, and he or she is sure to reply either Space Invaders or, more likely, Pacman. The coin-op was a worldwide success, and public awareness was, and still is, extensive. Hardly surprising, as Pacman's gameplay is so delightfully simplistic and yet addictive, and its cutesy nature succeeded in attracting a new breed of female gamesplayers. Pacman inspired all manner of spin-offs... apart from the ubiquitous and comparatively mundane T-Shirts and watches, there was a record (anyone remember, or own for that matter, a copy of Pacman Fever?) and even a TV show.

There were sequels galore, including Ms. Pacman, Pacman Jr. and Pacland (currently being converted to the ST and Amiga, incidentally), and of course, more recently, Pacmania. While Ms. Pacman and Pacman Jr. adhered closely to the original immensely popular formula, and Pacland was more in keeping with the television series, Pacmania is a slightly different kettle of fish. It retains the simplistic and infuriatingly addictive gameplay of the legendary original, but there are a few important tweaks and some very noticeable aesthetic changes... namely five bouncy soundtracks, improved sound effects and graphics, and four distinctly different eight-way scrolling mazes which are shown in oblique perspective.

The first maze follows exactly the same layout as the single-screen maze featured in the original Pacman, just to get you in the mood. As you guide Pacman around the mazes, gobbling dots in the time-honoured tradition, the screen scrolls to follow his progress, and you can never be too sure about what's lurking around the corner. The fact that you can no longer see all of the maze at once adds an innovative new twist and plenty of new problems. There you are, happily munching away, when all of a sudden you run into a ghost. But never fear - a quick stab of the fire button sends Pacman leaping into the air, and with a bit of slick manoceuvring you can sail over the ghosts' heads.

The bonus objects which appear beneath the ghosts' cage are more productive than before, with extra lives, power pills and a turbo boost to collect, as well as the point-boosting sweets, coffee, fruit (bananas, strawberries and cherries) and vegetables (peppers, carrots and sweetcorn).

Pacmania was converted by Shaun Hollingworth and Peter Harrap, two erstwhile Gremlin programmers who now form the core of development house Teque - also responsible for Grandslam's Terramex and The Flintstones. Ben Daglish is the man behind the accurate renditions of the coin-op tunes.

Grandslam's conversion isn't quite as colourful as its coin-op counterpart, sure, but the definitions and characters of Pacman and the ghosts have been successfully captured, and Teque have accurately reproduced all the playability and addictive qualities.

Once you sit down and re-live the good old days with the added luxury of glorious 3D, attractive, smooth scrolling scenery, and foot-tapping soundtracks to jolly you along, the repetitive nature of the gameplay is soon forgotten - if, indeed, it was ever noticed.

As with the original Pacman, the action can get extremely frantic at times, and the tension reaches heart-stopping proportions when it gets to the stage where you can't find an elusive last dot because you didn't notice you'd missed it in the first place.

Pacmania will certainly keep fans of the coin-op happy for many months to come, and its oh-so-cute appeal may even extend to mothers across the country. Who knows - you could find your ST taken over by your gran when she next comes round to stay.

Due for release at roughly the same time as the ST version, this incarnation promises to be virtually identical to the coin-op.

Not only should it play almost identically, it should look very similar too, with 8-colour scenery, 16-colour sprites, and full screen scrolling.