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Ever played Exile? If so, you'll be used to the idea of a bloke in a space suit wandering around a hostile terrain, attempting to save himself from a painful death by getting off the planet. That's the bulk of Escape From Arth's plot done with then. And that's also pretty much where the similarities end (sorry if I got you excited with the Exile reference, but there are no jet packs here).

The rest of the game goes slightly into the realms of Dun Darach, a plod-'em-up in which you move left or right across a flick-screen terrain, occasionally being allowed to move onto a different path. Unlike the utterly unmanageable Dun Darach, though, Escape From Arth follows a more action-orientated theme, and so the directions the character moves in are the only similarity the two titles share.

So it's not as good as Exile, but better than Dun Darach. Well, there's a huge chasm between those two games, so that's saying much about the quality of Arth, really. So let's go in for a bit of a closer examination.

The first thing you'll notice is that your bloke (or woman - you have the option) is carrying a rather natty laser gun, and can destroy bad guys with the greatest of ease. Once you've got yourself used to the incredibly simple control system then (about three seconds should do it), we've got an entire game to explore...

Arth is an odd little game. It begins with you standing alone on a baron planet, covered only with a light smattering of trees and old, crumbling walls. As you walk to the right (the standard first action in arcade adventure games) you come across an odd green blob that can (and should) be wasted. A quick hit on the trigger when he's in line with your gun, and you'll have soon put paid to any dastardly plans of attack the monster was forming.

This is where we hit a slight downer. Given that we're wandering around 'areas' (for want of a better word) roughly the size of the C64's screen, it seems a crying shame to use a bloke who can barely lift his feet off the ground. You can kiss goodbye to all those flying-while-shooting attacks, as Your Bloke Can't Jump. That's right - you have to make do with aiming upwards and trying to pick off the damned things as they whizz about overhead. This is a let-down, I have to say - there's nothing like a game with a really high jump, but sadly our warrior in Arth can't get four inches off the ground. Bummer.

Once you're over the fact that you're utterly earthbound, you'll start to explore, and discover the scenery. Occasionally, you'll find a switch, which'll open a door elsewhere on the map for you to go through and explore further. As you're totally free to wander wherever you want, you'll never get bored with the exploration aspect of Arth. The continual baddie shooting might get a tad tedious though.

Yes, Arth does have a violent side. In effect all you're doing is firing a laser cannon about the place in a vague attempt to melt the bad guys, but the addition of a few scrolling messages saying things like "Nice one!", "Good shot!" and "Bummer!" can incite anyone to embark on a psychotic rampage.

As you'd expect from a group of hardened fanatics (Arth is a Visualize production) this is a very well-presented game. It sounds wonderful and sports some nifty, well-drawn sprites, moving smoothly over a lush, animated background.

The main problem is that the thrills in Arth are very transitory; this is a fairly shallow game, based on running around a planet flicking switches and killing things - the gameplay's about as deep as a padding pool. But it is undeniably fun in the short term. Effectively wiping out the nasties becomes an art form, as does learning your way around the maps. With a few more additions this could definitely have been a real stormer of a game, but then it's definitely worth a look as it is anyway.

1. There's loads to explore, and lots of things to kill.

1. Mapping can get a little awkward.
2. It's a shame you can't jump or fly.
3. Could do with a bit more variety.