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Well, this is a turn up for my trousers. Instead of some cute lil' kiddy or dinosaur or wobbly blob, we've got a cute lil' robot-type, complete with teensy lil' blasters and a weensy lil' armoury of death-dealing nastiness. Um... well, maybe he's not that cute after all.

This particular foray into all things robotic: centres around a Dusty Bin-type character called Atomic Robo-Kid, whose simple task it is to blast his way through 21 levels of arcade shoot-'em-up mayhem. No well-worn plots in this one folks: no girlies to save or dictators to stop, just a wee robot - newly graduated from the University of Space Combat - and enemies a-plenty.

Each of the levels vary enormously, both in length and content, the first level being straightforward left-to-right blast. Later on, though, levels also scroll vertically and often take the form of a simplistic maze, requiring careful manoeuvring of 'botty' as many hazards aren't visible until it's almost too late.

In total there are 28 levels, of which 21 are traversed in any one game due to some levels having a choice of more than one exit available. Within this framework there is a fixed pattern of play: shoot your way through three levels, then attempt to destroy the massive (and by massive we mean of comparable size to Stevie J's underpants) end-of-level guardian. These monstrous thugs are large metallic objects of varying shapes and sizes who have attached to their persons a number of gun turrets, each of which must be destroyed before a large red eye appears. Shoot this several times and the beast disappears in a puff of - well, not much really. It just sort of disappears. This method of destruction is simple in itself but is made more difficult by the presence of large waving tentacles and enemy fire. Job done. Er... not quite.

After polishing off each gargantuan guardian a head-to-head battle screen is entered in which you appear on the left, confronted by a similar mini-bot on the right. Predictably, this metal mickey-taker is after your blood (or oil as the case may be) and so a quick shoot out is called for. Running up and down the middle of the screen are two moving asteroid belts which serve only to hinder the destruction of you or your adversary. The aim is simple: kill or be killed (I personally plumped for 'be killed' as I found the kill option to be far more difficult).

If this all sounds a bit soul-destroying, take heart: there are a sprinkling of different weapons to be collected and utilised as you see it ('see fit' = blast like crazy). You start off with simple bullets, and can collect Three-Way Fire, Five-Way Fire (which only has limited range), a Big Fat Laser (I can't quite recall its real name) and the Atomic Bomb which is arguably the most powerful one as it destroys enemy fire as well as vaporising the enemies themselves.

Occasionally a small metallic thing resembling a moth appears and, when shot, releases a pulsing orb. Shoot the orb and it changes colour, representing a different weapon and allowing you to collect only those weapons you haven't already go. Once these delights are in your possession you can select which one you wish to use by hitting the space bar.

Unlike some shoot-'em-ups, each weapon comes into its own in different parts of the game, a good example being on level two. This section takes the form of a simple maze in which there are an obscene amount of little wail-based worms which fire at you. In order to get through the narrow corridors unscathed the 'Big Fat Laser' is a must. One final note about the weaponry is that, whenever you lose a life, only the currently selected weapon is lost, so if you feel a bout of death coming on, quickly select the weapon that you least want to lose. A delightful option if ever I saw one.

All in all, Atomic Robo-Kid is a pretty stonking game; in fact it's a corker (though only just). The sound is gorgeous with the theme tune courtesy of Martin Walker (see CF for a feature on the man himself). Graphics, too, are a pleasure to behold. Almost all of the 28 levels are different graphically and superb use is made of the 64 colours in the backdrops. All the sprites are well animated and the end of level guardians are both massive and wonderfully detailed. Watch out for the giant spinning turbine fan, it's a real visual treat. Some of the larger sprites flicker badly when the screen gets busy but to dwell on this would be to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Playability? There's oodles of it. The game is not annoyingly difficult but without caution and acquired technique progress won't be forthcoming. A particularly good feature is that none of the nasties actually kill you on contact - only their weaponry causes you harm, which means that when you die it's because you've been a total berk, hanging around the opposition instead of blasting them to pieces.

Al that remains is to say, grab your Robo-Wallet, extract a healthy wad of Robo-Cash and rush out and Robo-Buy it now.

1. Varying structure of each level prevents complacency on the part of the player.
2. Variety of beautiful backdrops considerably enhances the game.
3. It's as pretty as it is fun.
4. Only enemy fire is harmful, it's no less difficult, but it isn't frustrating either.
5. 28 levels? Phwoah!
6. One-on-one sub-game is a great bonus.
7. Huge end-of-level baddies test your tactical ability.
8. Choice of weapons is not cosmetic. A careful choice of which to use or lose can - and often does! - save the day!

1. Nasties flicker on busy screens.