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Pulling on my best SAS black balaclava and rubber-soled shoes seems to be almost second nature these days, what with Impossible Mission, Nexus, Saboteur and the like, so here goes with Piranha's latest action-packed epic - Strike Force Cobra.

The plot goes something like this (you can probably guess it but don't spoil my fun): a group of baddies known only as 'The Enemy' have built a computer capable of hacking into and controlling the world's defence computers. [Wow. How original! - Ed]

Threatened with something of a nuclear holocaust, eight of the world's major powers have each donated their 'top man' to make up a formidable attack force, codenamed 'Cobra'. You, as the project controller, must choose four of the eight to make up the strike force that will storm the enemy's fortress and destroy their computer.

All four commandos are needed to complete a level, and they will need to co-operate with one another to have any chance of success.

When the game loads, you are asked to select the four commandos to actually enter the fortress. To help you choose wisely, you can review each commando's personal file before selecting or rejecting him (or her). The first level of the fortress consists of around 30 rooms inter-connected by corridors, windows and doors.

By carefully manipulating the joystick you can make one of the commandos kick open a door, jump through a window, even break-dance! Your weaponry consists of a light machine gun and an unlimited supply of hand-grenades. As you enter the fortress, your presence is detected and the main computer is set running its deadly software, and time is not on your side! To penetrate all four levels you will need to blast your way past electronic traps, killer robots and human guards, and use all your running to crack the maze.

There are several scientists, kidnapped and forced to build the computer and held captive in the fortress. Each scientist knows one digit of the computer room's nine digit combination lock. You will need to know at least six of them to have any chance of using your 'digital lock breaker'. The scientists can also offer you some valuable assistance, if you know how to use it. Your immediate aim on the first level should be to interview the scientists and assemble your team.

You view the proceedings from an unusual angle, looking down into a room from one corner. I found this a little confusing at first, but soon saw the advantages this viewpoint gives.

Superimposed on the bottom of the screen is a small window showing the combination numbers collected so far, and a digital counter counts down from '999'.

Some scenes allow fairly rapid movement while others are dreadfully slow. This seems to depend on the amount of background amount going on (robots moving, etc). Having said this though, the little black-clad commandos seem remarkably agile and can leap, dive, crouch and kick and chuck grenades with precision.

Although the music is non-existent, the sound effects are quite abundant. Warning klaxons, explosions, the chatter of machine guns and the whirr of machinery is all you hear, but what else do you need?

Controlling the characters is easier than a lot of these fighting-style games, the joystick only controls the left and right movement of the character. The other actions are all controlled from the keyboard.

I enjoyed Strike Force Cobra immensely, right from the start. The game has just the right blend of fighting skills and strategy (definitely a thinking man's game) to hold my interest for long periods of time, and I think it will be another week or two at least before I progress to the second level!