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As you will have no doubt noticed in the software charts and computer stores, cheap, good quality software is on the up and up. And about time too, not all us Commodore users are Rockafellers.

Well done Atlantis for introducing Space Escort to us. The game is fast, addictive and characteristic of those great arcade shoot-'em-ups.

The inlay card describes the menacing Space Craft that blow your ship to smithereens as Space Flies, Spheroids, Xethus Spirals, Griga Kamikaz, Laser Kamikaz, Asteroids and Motherships. A bit of a mouthful for us lesser beings.

The idea of the game is to guide a liner through space avoiding the waves of aliens. You are given ten lives and oh boy will you need them, especially when you are bombarded by some of the weird and wonderful sounding aliens.

To help you with your task, the liner you are escorting has been given shields - White = 0, Green = 2, Blue = 3, and Red = 4 or more. If you manage to glide your liner through space to the planet, you are awarded a bonus of 8,000. If you think that is the end of the game you are sadly mistaken. There's only 25 more liners for you to escort. Shattered! I am just writing about it. Definitely not a game for the weak-hearted, I assure you.

The only real criticism I can make is the explosions, they really do take too long to disappear. It's a bit annoying when you are being attacked by a fleet of marauding aliens, especially when you are on your last life and you can't see a missile hurling towards you because an explosion is covering it.

A feature I found most useful was being able to "continue old game". Great when you are on your last life and a surprise attack blasts your ship out of recognition, you just start that particular phase again.

Congratulations to Atlantis for a highly entertaining shoot-'em-up which, at only £2.99, does make you wonder how some companies have the nerve to ask for up to £7 for their inferior games.