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Ocean's latest film licence, Total Recall has become a four-level deep arcade jobby with two distinct styles. Two levels are platform/shoot-'em-up combinations while the other two are driving/maze combos. Quaid, the film character you play, has had an unsuccessful memory implant. His memories have been falsified and all he knows is that the answer to this mystery lies on Mars.

In level one you have to travel across the city in order to reach a phonebox with which you can arrange your trip to Mars. Along the way, you must collect a number of useful items whilst avoiding your arch enemy, Richter, the chief of police. Richter's goons are also out in force try and make your trip a short and painful one.

The controls are initially difficult to master. A dodgy jump to the left or right can prove hazardous as you tend to bounce off hard surfaces. Almost pixel-perfect manoeuvres are required. But this sounds worse than it actually is. Get some trial and error under your belt and you're away. Nevertheless, laser beams, moving platforms and spiky pits make your ultimate aim seem all the more unattainable, while collectible shooters and energy bottles give you the helping hand you so dearly need.

In level two you steal a johnny cab and have to drive to the spaceport before the time limit runs out. In level three, you have to escape from the Martian caverns. In both of these levels, armed enemy cars give chase and you come under fire. At the same time as you're trying to evade their ill will, you have to collect energy tokens and speed-up icons left on the roads. Just in case this all sounds a bit too easy, there are some great chasms to be leapt. There are oil patches and piles of debris which deplete your energy on contact and serve to make the chase a real chiller. These levels are definitely playable. They're furnished with unfussy controls and smooth scrolling. Do it all before the time runs out, though, or else...

On level four, our hero leaves his taxi and proceeds on foot to the ultimate battle with Cohaaggen, the previously anonymous person responsible for Quaid's implant. Funnily enough, this devious dude also has a strange urge to blow up Mars. Find and defeat Cohaaggen before the red planet does the big firework and victory is yours. But watch out for the strange cybernetic adversaries who, when destroyed, lie on the floor for a few seconds before reassembling themselves to attack you once more...

Even the graphics come from Mars. The programmers have opted for a cartoon style which works extremely well. It's colourful, chunky and smoothly animated. Gameplay too is well above average. The icing on the cake (or is that Mars bar?) is an excellent soundtrack. Its disjointed in places but the sounds are rich and atmospheric. The only niggle is that levels one and four, like levels two and three, are a bit too similar to each other. Total Recall doesn't have classic qualities, but it does the business.

1. The two pairs of levels are a little too similar in the gameplay department.
2. Controls are tricky.
3. Plenty of practice is needed to get the most out of it.

1. The graphics are colourful with a nice cartoony feel to them.
2. The game structure is well ordered and undemanding, you can wade straight into the game.
3. Two very different game types (platforms and driving) prevent tediu,.
4. Foreboding soundtrack.
5. The increase in difficulty throughout the levels allow you to see a little more each time you play.