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It's the far future - the year 6236 to be exact - and the beautifully-named 214th Sector is under attack from hordes of alien creepies. Being the sort of guy that revels in a little alienocide, you grab a jet pack and the latest death-dealing mega laser and transport yourself to the area via your Cosmic Gate to see if you can gently persuade them to go away.

Like the original game, Space Harrier II is a 3D shoot-'em-up in which you fly into the screen, blasting the baddies that fly towards you. There are twelve levels to clear of baddies, and any one of these may be selected at the start of the game.

Once you've made your selection, it's blasting time. The baddies instantly start to attack, and much dodging and blasting is required to survive. Just to make life even more difficult, obstacles bar your way - trees, columns, pipes and even starfish on sticks! The result of crashing into one of these weird hazards is a lost life.

The end of each level is patrolled by an exotic guardian, including such delights as Medusa's head, a giant jellyfish and a three-headed turtle (not the Hero variety!) and these are destroyed to progress to the next level.

Twelve levels have to be cleared in order to complete the game. Each has its own distinct landscape and unique obstacles and aliens to blast and avoid. After five levels there's a bonus stage in which the hero jumps aboard a flying saucer where extra points can be gathered by blasting trees.

During this period, it's impossible to die, so keep blasting those trees and rack up the points!

All the foes in the game are mutated into bizarre forms. Here's a selection:

1. Demon Toad Ever so pretty, leaps up and attacks

2. Cyborgman Sneaks up behind you and shoots your rear.

3. Evil Starfish Part of the scenery that's impossible to destroy

4. Meca Adence A giant sea anemone that attacks on the first level.

Space Harrier II is certainly an impressive game to look at - the sheer speed and smoothness of the 3D graphics is quite stunning. However, its beauty is only skin deep.

The game itself is very simple indeed, and once you've seen all the different background graphics (and you can select any level at the start of the game) there's very little to keep you coming back.

There are many people out there who love Space Harrier and are bound to go bonkers over this - but if you like your games to be more than just a pretty face, give this a miss.

Space Harrier was a sensation in the arcades because of its speed and sit-down cabinets.

However its playability never really matched its looks and sound, and I'm afraid that's true of this game as well. Don't get me wrong, it's fast and furious and great fun, but lacks a variety of gameplay to make it a total winner.

The aliens are brilliant, with the difficulty level pitched just right. Still, well worth a gander if fast shoot-'em-ups are your thing.

Presentation 83%
Sound test, skill levels and level select - pretty good, really.

Graphics 90%
Very impressive indeed, with colourful sprites and very smooth and fast 3D update.

Sound 85%
Booming effects and music that fits well.

Playability 81%
Seems tough at first, but once you've got used to the speed, the action is very straightforward.

Lastability 69%
Once you've got over the novelty of the graphics, the simplistic gameplay doesn't take long to master.

Overall 77%
A slick and polished game that looks amazing, but is rather dull to play.