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You wouldn't think that there's a decent game to be made about a load of slugs, would you? I mean, it's not as if they're fast, they're certainly not violent and they don't often carry powerful handguns.

But Codemasters weren't to be put off. They slaved away for a year and a day, and they came up with the character of Steg. He's got to be the coolest slug this side of the New Forest. If you remain sceptical, just look at the marvellous eezi-wipe, stay-fresh hi-score pad on the cover of this 'ere magazine.

The plot does not involve eating cabbages or leaving slimy trails across patios. Instead, you (as Steg), have got to feed your kids. They all sit in a nest at the top of every level (slugs in nests? The Codies are mixing their animals, I think!). Anyway, the babies are at the top, and the food, in the shape of loads of small maggots, is crawling around at the bottom.

Steg must slither down to the maggots, trap them in bubbles and guide them one-by-one to the nest, so the babies can eat them.

The difficulty comes with the obstacles that get in the way. Spikes, air-blowers and cul-de-sacs all need to be avoided or adjusted so that the bubbles have a safe passage. This means that Steg must guide them nearly all the way.

So he's got it tough, has our little slug. Only one thing makes life bearable; his power-ups. Steg has an energy bar, which decreases whenever he blows a bubble. Eating food restores it, but there isn't much food per level, so he can't afford to waste his precious bubbles.

What he can do, though, is find such neat items as bionic legs, a hovering jetpack, super-speed and something else, which I've forgotten. These make life considerably easier because he can ning around the levels with astonishing speed.

Steg is a little like the forthcoming Lemmings in that you've basically got to juggle your priorities between getting all the grubs into bubbles, guiding the bubbles higher and getting yourself food.

And it's pretty good. The graphics aren't as snazzy as in recent Codies games, but this is made up for by the gameplay. There are eleven levels, each more fiendish than the last. And if you don't tear the plug out of your C64 in frustration, you'll find it dead rewarding to play.

1. Graphics are a bit uninspiring.
2. Steg can get frustrating to move around, especially around corners.
3. The increasingly frantic gameplay might not appeal to everybody.

1. It's a race against time, and being a slug, you've got your work cut out.
2. Loads of collectables and power-ups make things even more varied.
3. Eleven levels mean that you've always got different challenges to face, and each level is several screens in size.
4. Code system allows you to play the level of your choice (once you've got the codes, that is!)
5. Lots of puzzle elements mean that your grey cells won't be left in neutral.
6. You can note your highest score down on the spiffy CF hi-score pad.