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Sid Meier, the bloke who programmed Red Storm Rising, is no stranger to the submersible world; he gave us Silent Service a couple of years ago. His latest effort goes away from the World War II submarine tradition of "look through the periscope and let go both tubes" to the realm of nuclear subs, guided weapons and advanced sonar techniques. In fact, he's put us a few years into the future into a world threatened by the outbreak of yet another World War.

As you've already guessed, this is one of those incredibly thorough and detailed MicroProse simulations that is up to the high standards set by classics like Project Stealth Fighter and Gunship. As an extra attraction, they've linked it to Tom Clancy's bestselling novel of the same name, who gets to write the Preface: "Submarine warfare is ambush, followed by evasion; a game of life and death played in three dimensions of cold, wet, unforgiving darkness". So that's how you write bestsellers.

Because of the novel you get what amounts to a game within a game. Like other MicroProse simulations, Red Storm Rising gives you a range of battle scenarios to choose from, and also a range of skill levels. But once you've got bored with those, you can play the extra and 'ultimate' Red Storm Rising scenario, a full blown war against (who else?) the Russians [America! - Ed] In this section of the game, you proceed through a series of High Command instructions and battles, provided you don't go down first - more about that later.

Anyway, let's get straight down into those three dimensions of cold, wet, unforgiving darkness. The object of the game is pretty straightforward. As commander of one of five different submarines, you choose one of nine different battle scenes in which to show your combat skills.

The battle scenes offer a range of situations that include both surface vessels and submarines:

1. The Duel: One-on-one scrap with a Russian sub. 2. The Cruise Missile Sub: Same but this one might have a few 'guardian' subs hovering around. 3. The Wolfpack: Fight a group of Russian subs using 'wolfpack' tactics. 4. The Boomer Bastion: You must find and destroy a Russian ballistic sub. 5. A Strike Group: You've intercepted a task force of surface ships. Now for that sinking feeling. 6. An ASW Group: You're being hunted by an anti-submarine task force. Get them before they get you. 7. A Carrier Task Force: The big one, your chance to sink a Ruskie aircraft carrier. 8. A Chance Engagement: One of the above situations selected randomly so that you don't know what to expect.

Whichever one of those battle scenes you decide to play, you choose the level of difficulty, from introductory, normal, serious or ultimate.

Like most other MicroProse sims, this one allows you to get straight into the action by embarking on a couple of training missions - one against a clapped-out Russian surface vessel, the other against an equally clapped-out sub. To make things even easier, both are armed with blanks. It's at this stage that you get to learn the controls which, admittedly, look very daunting at the beginning, as does the 100-page manual.

You're provided with the usual keyboard overlay which is vital because nearly all the C64's are used for some purpose or other. Each key or function is very well explained in the manual and using this in conjunction with the Help button is a nice 'n easy way of introducing yourself to the abundant controls and weaponry. There's a Pause button too, essential for flicking through the manual for that bit of info you knew you saw somewhere.

The Help button, by the way, is described as a tactical computer which analyses the situation and then tells you what action to take. It's pretty good too.

The problem with submarine sims is that, being underwater, there's really not much to see. So the programmers have added lots of optional screens to the primary Tactical Display you see for most of the time. You can zoom in and out on the map, zoom in to see weapons fired and weapons approaching, access a map overlay that shows water conditions like deep and shallow water and the ice conditions when under the Polar ice cap.

Added to that, there's a whole set of screens concerned with identifying enemy vessels through their 'sonar signature' and having identified them, gaining information on their sonar and weapons capability. Go to the surface and you can look at them through the periscope.

But the major part of the game is concerned with sonar and general sensing, since you can't actually see anything. The whole object is to not let the enemy know you're there. For this purpose, your sub is fitted with active sonar and radar, and a number of devices, like the decoy and noisemaker, to counter weapons that are targeted towards you. Your computer tells you when an enemy vessel has been spotted and displays as much information as it can. As the vessel gets nearer or the sonar gets better, the computer identifies the vessel, its bearing and the distance away.

The booklet goes into great detail about sonar, explaining how it works and how to use it in a variety of situations. Admittedly, this involves using your loaf but is essential if you're determined to do well in the difficult levels of the game.

On the introductory level you can sink virtually anything with impunity, not bothering much with tactics. As you advance, the enemy becomes more cunning and will strike if you give yourself away by using active sonar, running your engines too loud, exposing your sonar baffles or a whole load of other things that should get you the sack back at HQ.

Firing and controlling weapons is an equally complex process and is, again, explained at length in the booklet. Some weapons, like the airborne Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles, cannot be controlled once fired. But you do have the option to control a torpedo through its trailing wire. Airborne missiles also have a minimum range and a maximum depth at which they can be fired.

It's worth pointing out here that weapons do take a long time to reach their targets and may well have to circle a bit if the enemy takes evasive action. So don't expect fast-action blasting in this game.

On more advanced missions, you have to decide which weapons to carry to suit particular conditions. In one of the Red Storm Rising scenarios, you'll need to arm yourself with land-striking Tomahawk missiles. To liven things up, MicroProse have included animated scenes for weapons firing. You can watch your sub launching a weapon and watch it strike and hopefully sink the target - or watch a missile strike you.

Finally, there's control of the vessel itself. You can increase or decrease speed, change depth and set course either by entering a bearing or, in an emergency, actually take control of the rudder using the cursor keys.

A mission is completed either when your sub is knocked out, you knock out all the enemy vessels or they escape and there's no more for you to do. You're then given a performance rating, a pat on the back if deserved and even a medal if you've done very well.

Now for the final Red Storm Rising scenario. This involves a map of the North Atlantic and a storyline which, to my mind, is somewhat inappropriate given current East-West relations. The drift of the story goes like this. Islamic fundamentalists have knocked out Russia's oil wells in Siberia, leaving it seriously short of energy supplies. In order to survive, Russia must capture the oil wells in the Gulf. It realises that NATO forces would be too strong so it sets up a diversionary war in Europe to weaken NATO forces. Before doing that it cunningly sets up a smokescreen of disarmament to put NATO off the scent whilst indulging in massive rearmament at home. All this, by the way, is told in a clever mixture of text and animated graphics.

Your task is to carry out HQ mission commands, sailing round the North Atlantic to whatever spot on the map your instructions direct you. When you contact the enemy, you're back to the familiar Tactical Display and the battle commences. Only this time, you'll get another mission when this one finishes. Throughout all this, you get intermittent bulletins of what's happening in the way, and who's winning at any one stage.

It's not easy to get killed in the Red Storm Rising scenario. My sub was sunk after being hit by numerous torpedoes. I'd really had my chips, I thought. Funnily enough, I found myself recovering in hospital, issued with another mission and a bronze medal into the bargain. Mind you, I had sunk a few ships before I went down.

Red Storm Rising is nothing less than a brilliant game. It's obviously well researched, superbly programmed and it packs in loads of information about modern submarine warfare. Like most MicroProse games, it can be played at whatever level you like and is not really as daunting and complicated as you first think, although it does have depth if you're prepared to look for it. It also manages to make the most out of an unpromising scenario. Let's face it, there's no speed and no fast shooting; you're just blimping around underwater. But it's pretty gripping stuff all the same.