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Something odd here - the game claims to be a skateboarding simulator with "a powerful rock beat to drive you on", Apart from the occasional whimper, my Arnold was silent all through the game. A sprinkling of noise during the starting menus, but other than that... silence.

I'm sure the music wasn't supposed to be the high point of the game anyway, so that leaves the skateboarding aspect for you to get your toes around.

There's this gang of accomplished skaters, called (appealingly) the Slime Rats, and to join them you have to rush down an anonymous bit of suburban Britain, hitting flags and missing cars, OAPs and verges.

If you succeed without losing too many skateboards you can call yourself a Slime Rat Skater. Irresistible, boys and girls, or what?

Towards the rodent status. Your joystick controls it all - one set of movements without the fire button pressed just push the board around the screen, press the fire button and some more spectacular manoeuvres result.

Kick turn left, kick turn right and the old fallback, the wheelie, can all help you leap, twist and gyrate your way around a series of obstacles of increasing difficulty.

There's also the option to tighten up your trucks. No obscure American euphemism this; tighter trucks mean smaller turns, but the rest of the handling (footling?) suffers as a result. Most notably, the acceleration, and as the race is timed (you have to reach the finishing line before the clock runs out) this can make a difference. You might also prefer a less than megatight turning circle.

As a great deal of the boardbound fun happens on the road, you have to be aware of other road users and give them due consideration (guess who's just passed his driving test - whoopie!).

Cars can ruin any chance you had of becoming a Slime Rat; you might be able to manage the first bit after they hit you but that's about all. Similarly, ramming pedestrians, falling down holes and trying to get up on the pavement via a six-inch kerb are not the exhibitions of skill that one is expected to display.

However, the appearance of a ramp and an obstacle beyond should not be passed up, as any opportunity to impress can be useful.

Is skateboarding on the way back? Or have urethane wheels and mag alloy trucks gone the way of flares and ZX81 sales? Will you be a Slime Rat Skater, or just a Soggy Hamster Skipping-Rope Jumper? Who can tell...

In a game like this, joystick response is all. Remarkably, like in a karate simulation, the simulated skateboarder has to learn the correct sequence of wrist-flicks and stick juggling.

Sad to report, Skate Rock Simulator doesn't have the right razor sharp response and immediate feedback that would make it an essential purchase, but I suppose it's another scenario and its cheap enough to be given a go if you enjoy the real thing.

And at least you won't skin your elbows when you fall down laughing at the old lady doing a spot of breakdancing on the pavement. Should that be sidewalk?

A distinctly difficult game. I liked the ability to jump on and off pavements, the wheelies are very effective. The collision detection is somewhat suspect, but not as suspect as some of the "people" on the pavement.

The lack of the titled "rock" is a blessing if the tune between games is any guide, the flip scrolling is awkward, a real scroll at this speed would have been possible and preferable, The price makes up for the shortcomings.

So skateboarding is back. So is Skate Rock, this game was previously published by Bubble Bus. As a veteran of a Santa Cruz with Rebounds and OJ's [She means a skateboard - Ed] I know that tightening the trucks makes for wider turns.

I suppose because I liked the idea I liked the game. It is all skate and no rock. There is the odd glitch which leaves bits of your sprite on the screen. Still Skate Rock provides for an interesting few hours.