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There's an old adage that states, "Shoot-'em-ups are ten a penny, but good shoot-'em-ups are like gold dust." So it seems that Genias have struck it rich with Catalypse, a shoot-'em-up that's threatening to give senseless violence a good name.

Nothing beats a gratuitous display of high-tech, space-age firepower. Nothing, that is, except wave after wave of kamikaze aliens who throw themselves on to your guns. Then pokey power-ups must combine with dexterous dodging, forward-thinking and lashings of luck to ensure survival.

Catalypse offers all the above and more. It's a horizontally-scrolling shoot-out that does the business in every department. Five levels of smooth moving action await those who are wiling to enter Genias' terror-dome.

The Federation has been overwhelmed by a surprise attack from the planet Clio. As per usual, it isn't possible to send over an entire fleet to bop the Clio homeworld and only one experimental ship is available for the mission. Predictably you are the heroic fool who has volunteered for this suicide run. So off you trot to save the universe.

The plot cannot be described as original, but that's as far as the predictability factor goes. Once the firefight flares up you find yourself in a game that oozes originality filled with flourishes that prove Catalypse was designed by folk who love shoot-'em-ups for folk who love shoot-'em-ups!

After an animated intro screen with some threatening, but indecipherable, sampled speech, Catalypse gets straight down to business. Your fighter is launched from a federation capitol ship, the level loads and it's time to get busy. Even before any aliens hit the screen, you are confronted with three power-up pods. Blasting these a few times in the usual manner, delivers a drone and cannons for it, and a rather spiffy spread shot for the fighter. You had better collect them, as every bit of hardware you can bolt on is essential - the aliens haven't yet begun to fight!

Suddenly aliens sweep into attack the freshly tooled up fighter. They attack in waves, deliberately designed to test your flying mettle. Each enemy takes three hits to destroy, so it's a case of stick and move as you chase down the weakened craft looking for a clean kill. To make matters worse, there are gun emplacements on the surface and roof of the metallic tunnel, which home in with deceptive, but deadly, shots.

You're on your own from here. The only aid comes from extra power-up pods that give additional weapons or beef up the ones you've already got. You must provide the skill and wave knowledge that will allow you to reach the massive end-of-level guardians.

Get into a scrap with one of the end-of-level leaders and you'll be impressed. Probably dead, but definitely impressed. They are huge mobile beasts that demand the very pokiest power-ups and flashiest flying to defeat. A huge eye spitter, enormous mothership and leaping lizard are just three of the five. Once you've become accustomed to the firepower, scrolling and neat design, it's these guys who provide the motive to carry on killing - you just have to see the next big baddie!

There's more to Catalypse than meets the eye - or indeed meeting the eye! - though. Everything about the game puts it right at the top of the blast-'em-up tree. First off, it's a variable game. At the opening title screen you can choose what kind of scrolly starfield you want as a backdrop. This isn't a major bonus as there's so much going on that you never have time to see it. The option that lifts Catalypse is the ability to turn enemies' guns off. The game then becomes an avoid-'em-up, and the reduced threat level allows you to dodge deeper into danger zone than you previously dared dream. This makes Catalypse playable, both by arcade pros who can take on an ultra-hostile foe and by the casual shooter who wants a hi-score.

Catalypse also avoids many fatal pitfalls by virtue of solid design. The majority of shoot-'em-ups suffer because there's little apparent thought in the design. Power-ups are in all the wrong places, or they've been put together by folk who don't understand this classic game form - they thing that just giving you tons of guns makes it good. Catalypse, on the other hand, feels like a game that has been tried and tested countless times, checking the position and potency of power-ups. There's a safe zone somewhere for every wave, but you've got to find it under fire!

The polish doesn't end there though, as Catalypse boasts both an intro and outro sequence (we had a cheat!). There's none of this 'well done, uuhh, game over' nonsense. Here you get a series of animated screens that provides a punchy pay-off for a game well played.

Catalypse does have a few problems, but these are largely unavoidable, and only become obvious because the rest of the game is so well produced. The major irritant is the need to reload a level once you die; it's no hassle on disk but can be time-consuming on tape. The other main stumbling block - you can learn the way the waves attack - isn't even Catalypse's fault. When you have mastered the early levels, they become a mechanical memory test, but even then they are still a real test.

Catalypse is a quintessential shoot-'em-up; an example of the genre at its very best. There are hordes of weapons, five very different levels, monstrous end-of-level guardians, a steadily increasing pace, neat design and an option to make life easier or tougher - yes, Catalypse is a total action package. It won't take that long to finish, but that is simply because it demands that you play, play and play again! But when you've saved the universe, you'll actually start pining for another alien invasion - and luckily that's only a Run Stop/Shift away!

1. Die, and the entire level needs to be reloaded.

1. A stunning shoot-out - the best for ages!
2. Amazingly huge guardians and aliens.
3. Intro and end sequence.
4. Well-paced - it's tough but definitely beatable.
5. Masses of weapons, all of which can be beefed up.
6. Optional difficulty - enemy guns can be turned off!
7. Collision detection favours the player.
8. Brilliantly designed - new threats appear on every screen.
9. Smooth fast-scrolling and selectable starfields.