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Commander Knox is a genius. We know this not because he once discovered a cure for cancer in his sandwich box. No. We know this because when Commander Knox fell into a Black Hole in a small galaxy in the year 2064 he didn't shout, "Help!" or, "This is it - we're done for, chaps!" but, "Aha, we've jumped into the 12th dimension. This means, unless I'm mistaken, that we will encounter weird, geometrical worlds."

He was, of course, absolutely right. All around him whirled strange square planets which could easily have been transformed into habitable worlds (conveniently solving the 4th dimension's terrible problem with council waiting lists) if it weren't for a bunch of contaminating radioactive blocks.

And that's where you come in. It's your task to remove the offending boulders from 40 different planets without further ado - and all the equipment you've got is a little rubber ball...

What all this boils down to is a rather elaborate Breakout-style game. Your ball, or sponde as they call it in the trade, is only capable of bouncing up and down so, using left, right and speed-up controls, you've got to manoeuvre it round the screen and use it to smash up those blocks. The faster you go, the bigger your bonus.

Easy? It would be if there weren't so many savage skulls, horrible helicopters, riotous robots and bulldozing bubbles lurking about the place. One touch and it's curtains for Mr Sponde. To make matters worse most of the blocks are colour-coded: to dye your ball the same shade as the block, you have to dip it in the appropriate paint-pot first. And that's just the half of it. In the 12th Dimension there are one-way roads, moving blocks, colour-coded doors, bombs and mysterious question mark bricks floating about all over the shop.

It sounds like a sure-fire formula for a puzzle game: lots of different levels, plenty of obstacles, a screen designer and a couple of excellent two player options, both of which have totally different sets of screens. No two levels are exactly alike and there's always plenty to keep that cute little sponde occupied.

In practice, it can be so excruciatingly frustrating you'll want to stick your Doc Martens straight through the screen. The trouble is that Gotcha! just isn't addictive enough. There's very little sound to speak of and the graphics are fairly basic but what's really missing is the incentive to win. Each level is a game in itself. Once you've finished it that's it; there's no overall score and it doesn't affect your progress in the game as a whole.

And the moral? If you like making expensive mistakes rush out and buy it. If you don't take a very close look at it first.

1. None!

1. Frustrating gameplay - you won't get addicted.
2. Very pricey for a Breakout variant.
3. Uninteresting graphics
4. No on-going play - each level has to be played separately.
5. Minimal sound effects