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Elite are back with a new batch of troublesome terrors wrought from the fevered mind of a Hollywood film maker. Our furry reviewer is fed after midnight so he can craftily concoct this report. No, wait! Don't shed too much light on it - uh oh...

Several years have passed since the gremlins last went wild and Gizmo has returned to his old master in New York's Chinatown. But the old man dies and developers move in to build a business complex containing offices, shops and such like.

Gizmo is held prisoner in a lab but his old friend Billy discovers him and puts him safely away in his office drawer. Needless to say he escapes, accidentally multiplies and, once more, gremlins are on the loose. As Billy, you must rid the complex of creatures before midnight when they can rampage throughout the whole of New York City [Not such a terrible prospect really - Ed].

The game is of the platform type, in which the screen doesn't scroll but flips each time you exit either side or above and below. This may not sound very impressive but each screen has a very rigid pattern of enemy attacks and constitutes a unique challenge, something that just wouldn't be possible if the screen scrolled.

Billy can crouch, jump, walk right and left and fire. The firing type depends on the weapon you're carrying. There's the Tomato Weapon which releases a volley of rotten fruit but only works over a short range. There are four types of torch which range from the weedy single-firing version to the two-way mega torch which fires three shots in front and behind. The telephone fires in an arc so is only good for long distance shooting. The frisbee is a good all rounder, while the boomerang is fast-firing and unpredictable.

You'll find these weapons scattered around the play area but it's not always wise to collect them as soon as you see them as it may jeopardise your chances of completing a puzzle later on in the level.

The gremlins themselves are brilliantly done. While they are small, they are also minutely detailed and well animated. There are eight types in all, each moving and attacking in a different way. Daffy curls into a ball and rolls into you, Mohawk throws things at you, Electric appears from plug sockets and shocks you, George flicks cigar ash onto you from above, Lenny also throws things, Pogo rides a pogo stick and moves very quickly, Skateboard (surprise, surprise) rides a skateboard and runs you over and last but not least is Sexygirl (good name guys!) whose powerful blown Kisses kill on contact.

Because their movements are so erratic and further, because so many appear at once, the action can get massively frantic in some of the screens.

The overall aim is to collect a completion item from each of the five levels. The item appears as an icon with the letter G on it and is often found in the most inaccessible places. But with the item collected you must make your way to the lift which transports you to the next level.

Other icons are dotted around which furnish you with various bonuses such as points, extra lives, time and Rambo Gizmo. The latter is merely your little furry friend who, in an uncharacteristic fit of bravery, parachutes onto the screen and helps to kill some of the gremlins. Good ol' Giz, eh?

Occasionally, when you shoot a gremlin, a bubble appears. If you collect it, it acts as a credit for the shop at the end of level two. Here you can choose your default weapon for the rest of the game. Whenever you get killed, this is the item you'll start off with.

Graphically, Gremlins 2 is a treat. The backdrops are of a very high standard and largely atmospheric. The sprites are varied, detailed and highly comical - except for Billy's sprite. It's blocky and really rather crap. Gremlins 2 is challenging and there are several puzzles to solve but in the main it's all a little too difficult, frustrating in fact. There's also a lack of variety between levels, making it a bit repetitive.

1. Main sprite looks dreadful and lets down the rest of the graphics.
2. Not much variety between levels - the repetition gets to you.
3. It can get incredibly frustrating, especially when a gremlin kills you right at the edge of the screen.

1. Atmospheric and nicely drawn background graphics.
2. The gremlin sprites are rich in detail and animated with real class.
3. Eight very different gremlin types add to the excitement.
4. A puzzle-solving element adds to the overall effect.
5. The levels are fairly big and are always very busy.