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The £64,000 Question not expensive enough? Price definitely not right? Wey not apply for the last word in game shows? You're bound to get on - they've got plenty of vacancies after every show... Ed Ricketts gets starstruck

Game shows are becoming ever more tacky and ridiculous in their quest for the ultimate crowd-pulling spectacle. We've had Endurance, the Japanese program where contestants gladly sit in a vat of acid to win a table lamp. We've seen The Price Is Right induce ordinary people into a consumerist frenzy beyond all bounds of decency and we've even had to sit through - sorry, turn off - Blind Date. But The Killing Game Show from Psygnosis takes the genre to its inevitable peak - a game show where your own life is at stake.

In the future, like is boring and viewers need something even more outrageous to keep them watching the TV. Thus The Killing Game Show is botn - 16 Pits of Death constructed on eight satellite moons. This is the place where the contestants must fight for their lives. They are lawbreakers who have undergone surgery and are now more machine than human.

The only thing these players have to do is escape the Pits - but this is not as easy as it sounds. The Pits are inhabited by specially created HALFs (Hostile Artificial Life Forms) who are designed to stop the player at all costs. As if this isn't enough, DOLL (Deadly to Organic Life Liquid) is contantly pumped into the Pit. It rises steadily over the whole ara and just one touch means you're a goner.

Each level is split into two halves and consists of many interlinked platforms, walls, dead ends and traps. Taking the role of one lucky contestant, you begin at the bottom and must eventually find a route to the exit somewhere at the top. You do this by jumping, blasting, doubling back and exploring every single cranny.

The weapon you begin with is adequate but not the best. Luckily, there are heavily camouflaged caskets scattered around the levels and you can shoot these to reveal extra tokens. The tokens give you a variety of powers: better weapons, advice (helpful and otherwise), water freezes to halt the relentless advance of the DOLL for a short time, or keys. Keys are imporant objects to pick up because, sooner or later, you're sure to come across a slot that needs one.

When it all goes horribly wrong you're presented with a video replay of your last life - fortunately you can fast forward it if it proves too embarrassing - and the really great thing is that you can break in at any time and carry on playing from that point.

The digitised intro sequence before the game starts is very impressive, though it could have been even more so if it had been accompanied by sound. Visuals in the game are well catered for - sprites, although quite small, are excellently animated, particularly the HALFs. The action also takes place against colourful backdrops that change with each level.

The explosions are very satisfying as well, One superb touch is the reflection the DOLL - it's extremely convincing. There are no problems with the four-way screen scrolling either. A hefty chunk of sampled music greets you on the attract screens, while in the game itself you can select between music or effects. Effects are better on the whole, consisting of meaty explosions and manic gunfire noises.

The Killing Game Show is an excellent implementation of what could have been just another shoot-'em-up. It can be many different things to different people - a good old-fashioned blast, a complex platform game, even an arcade adventure. The game is hard enough to pose a challenge - some of the puzzles really do take some figuring out - yet it's easy enough to get going quickly. Without the replay feature you'd never get off level one, but use it well and you get the feeling that you might just be able to complete the game.

Though it has some innovative touches, it's hardly likely to win the Populous Award for Originality. Even so, The Killing Game Show should keep you playing until the real thing appears on TV - probably around next September...