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Protector from Quicksilva, by Andy Green, is well up to his usual standards. The graphics are stunning. Most startling are the wailing flying saucers or UFOs, whose tops pulsate with colour as they cross the screen, laying mines. There are other novel features on the title page, which takes a long time to complete but is worth waiting for.

The game can only be played with joysticks, which is a great pity. All the joystick does is move you (the Protector of the title) about the screen and it is difficult to see why this could not have been done just as well by keystrokes.

The main idea is to protect a set of 'pods' in the centre of the screen from thieves. Other hazards are there to stop you, including monsters, the UFOs and their mines. You ram the thieves and the UFOs, and avoid the mines and the monsters.

Scoring and 'high score' are as in most games. You can opt for one or two players from the title screen.

This brings me to a bug. Pressing 1 or 2 (for the number of players) bypasses the title screen. If you press the ESCAPE key, however, the title screen appears at double-speed, but the game then hangs up and has to be re-loaded!

Excellent value if you like good graphics, and have a joystick.