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If you don't know who Rogue Trooper is, you must have gone seriously wrong somewhere as far as your reading material is concerned. I suggest you get straight back down to the newsagent and pick up a copy of the galaxy's mosy zarjaz comic, 2000AD - only 20p Earth money.

Trouble is, Rogue doesn't make too many appearances these days, so some back numbers of the graphic novels might be necessary.

Rogue Trooper is the only survivor of a regiment of Genetic Infantrymen - GIs, betrayed to the Norts and slaughtered in the Quartz massacre. Of all the combatants on Nu Earth, only Rogue can breathe the deadly chem-clouds that pollute the atmosphere.

These days no one much cares who the traitor was. It would cost a lot of time and money to track him down and there's a war to fight. But the Authorities at Millicom hadn't figured on Rogue Trooper - man with a grudge to bear if ever there was one. Rogue intends to track down eight Vid tapes of the drop on the Quartz zone filmer by Millicom's security satellite. Only these tapes, cased in concrete for protection, can provide the hard evidence needed to identify the traitor.

Rogue is not alone. His buddies, Gunnar, Helm and Bagman, killed in the Quartz massacre, have been stored on bio chips and installed in parts of Rogue's equipment - guess which.

That's what the game is all about, it sticks pretty closely to the original storyline. you control Rogue and must collect the eight vidtapes and take them back to Millicom HQ. The battlefields of Nu Earth are similar to 3D landscapes to be found in other games like Underwurlde and Knight Lore, and overall, not entirely dissimilar to Who Dares Win.

The bottom line is that you run around shooting everything that moves - mainly enemy Norts, but Southers too - they don't much like deserters. In addition to the vidtapes you must collect ammo boxes and medikits, your 100 percent energy rating will soon deteriorate when you've taken a few hits.

Your buddies Helm, Gunnar and Bagman are quick with the advice, regardless of whether you need it or not. Their comments are displayed alongside the battle computer accompanied by a beep:

"Stop stallin', we've got a war to win."

"Yeah, and a traitor to catch."

"Hey Rogue, let's get movin'."

"Lest medikit used Rogue."

"Look out for more ammo and medikits."

"Try behind that wall, Rogue."

Loneliness is one thing you don't have to worry about. The battle computer provides some additional information. The plan is too vague to be of much use, but it's handy to know what your strength is, how many medikits and rounds of ammo you have left, and of course, what your score is.

Enemy troops aren't the only hazard. The terrain can be unfriendly, minefields and pill boxes being just a couple of the problems you will encounter. The secret is to make sure you have a good supply of medikits to deal with those unexpected little explosions.

Superficially, Rogue Trooper doesn't look amazingly different to Rambo, Commando and Who Dares Wins, apart from its complete lack of colour. But the Rogue Trooper storyline, which closely follows its comic counterpart, gives it an added dimension. Adjust your circuits for somewhat less than 100% thrill power though.