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Once more we traipse gently into deep space for another saga of lasers, shields and rapacious robots. A quick update on the story is in order for those who've missed the previous episodes...

The scene is the bow end of a Star Class spaceliner. A junior officer has gone out on his compulsory solo space flight in a little skimmer to check on the robot defence systems, and everything seems OK. Relieved at this uneventful trip (he's seen some video games where all manner of unspeakable things befall a spacer) he turns to re-enter the ship.

And.., the hatch is stuck. The only other entrance is at the front of the ship, some three sections and a humongous number of robotic defence devices away. At this point, three choices confront the unlucky fellow.

1. Sit tight and radio for a maintenance team to fix the hatch.
2. Ask the ship's defence officers to shut down enough hardware to let him through, or
3. Go for it, shooting his way to the front and destroying the three main central defence systems. Certain death, this one.

Simple logic dictates that options one and two make pretty boring computer games. So three it is. Gritting his teeth (a pretty unpleasant habit, the bits of stone get stuck between your molars), he swivels the ship and prepares to confront the computers. The exterior of the Star Class liner is littered with girders, walls, partitions and other bits. The skimmer can't clear these, so the way back is going to be mazy. Some obstructions can be cleared with the skimmer flipped over on the back, but this reduces its manoeuvreability. And long words beginning with M are just what you need when there are three nerve centres to knock out before breakfast.

The designers of the Star Class weaponry decided that if the stuff was going to be any good it had be invisible, invincible, and inventive. Fortunately, a skimmer is equipped to overcome these attributes, but only if sensibly handled.

As each new sector is explored, the robot weapons wake up and pour out to attack the intruder, - that's you. Your lasers are useful, so are your three shields. These can keep you safe for a while, but run down as all good shields must. You go with the third shield, which at least stops any petty worrying about oxygen, food or water.

Strangely, you can get into the ship in places. Or at least into the inner bits of the hull, and to dodge some of the defences this is exactly what you need to do. Hover over a hatchway and loose off a bolt or two of phasecoherent light, and you'll be admitted. Don't expect the defences to let up inside. You won't be disappointed.

The instructions are a touch less than explicit, and the precise nature of the things that surround you remain mysterious. The top-down Mode 0 view doesn't give away too much, but it can be revealed that the inner tubes, tomatoes and rotating planks are in fact robots, and the bursts of laser fire are bursts of laser fire. So now you know. Off you go then.

I didn't enjoy this game much. It's basically a maze game, with a little shooting and a lot of wandering about unremarkable areas. After five minutes of juddery chunky graphics I wondered whether anything different was going to happen. After ten, I stopped wondering...

I did gain a little fun by trying to guess which of the shapes was a hatchway, which was a low obstruction and which did nothing (the majority are in the last category). I also got a score in the high 30000s by sitting at the beginning and firing at a robot exit, which was about as exciting as it sounds.

There is nothing I like more than a good space-age zap. This is a mediocre one. Once you've worked out what to fly under, and which bits to avoid the game perks up a bit.

I'm surprised that a software house which is as well established as The Edge have not produced anything which is more remarkable.

Why should anyone want to skim a shadow? Having failed to get HAL to open the pod bay door you have to negotiate the most unstreamlined spaceship ever (not that spaceships need to be streamlined).

I found negotiating the maze bits frustrating due to the sluggish joystick control, and the sprites could have been slicker. The Edge could have made more of this.