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Well, guess what? Aliens are invading again, and it's up to you to stop them in your turbo-charged laser death-spitting starfighter of doom. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

On the first level the action is viewed from above, and you have to fly around the multi-directionally scrolling screen and blast four ground installations. Naturally they're well defended, and swarms of aerial craft try and stop you in your tracks.

Neutralise the quartet of targets and you move onto the next level, a horizontally scrolling affair that's once again packed with very hostile aliens and a big guardian at the end. Once that's out of the way, it's back to an overhead view, and the game continues to switch viewpoints in that order all the way through its nine levels.

Throughout the game there are a wide variety of power-ups to collect which are activated by judicious use of the A button. Drones, three-way, wide-shot, and many more give you the ability to cut great swathes through the enemy. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses, so careful choice is required.

Thunderforce II has plenty of secret bonuses. For example, clearing the first screen in under a minute gives you a hefty 250,000 points bonus. And on level two there's a 500,000 point bonus for... well, we're not going to tell you - but it's got absolutely nothing to do with shooting things. See if you can discover how to get it!

Currently available on import, and officially available in this country next year, is Thunderforce III. It carries on from this version with the addition of more powerful weapons, even meaner aliens and some of the most astonishing graphics we've seen on the Megadrive.

Looking even further into the future, we've discovered that programmers Technosoft are currently working on Thunderforce IV. We'll be featuring both these games in future issues.

There are plenty of power-ups to collect - some are powerful than others. Learn which one suits your playing style the best.

1. Wide Shot: Devastate those on either side of you!

2. Twin: Megapower directly ahead - good in tight areas.

3. Claw: A drone which circles around your ship and fires extra shots.

4. Five-Way: Creates swarms of energy waves over a wide area.

5. Flash: Forward and rear-firing megablast.

6. Wave: Thick band of high firepower - the best for the horizontal levels.

7. Clash: Medium power shots, but covers a wide area.

8. Destroy: A big swirling energy burst - long pauses between shots, though.

9. Hunters: Reasonably powerful, but home in on the enemy.

Thunderforce II is great fun - for a while. But I think you'll get bored with it fairly quickly, as the gameplay is quite limited. Having two different types of scrolling sections is a good idea, but neither format stretches the Megadrive to its limit.

This is true for the graphics and sound as well - the sprites aren't particularly good, the backdrops are alright and the sound effects are meaty, but I think the machine is capable of better. Having said that, the action is fast and furious while it lasts - I just wish there was more to it.

I'm in disagreement with Matt here, but then shoot-'em-ups are my favourite type of game. The sprites aren't particularly good, but the beefy sound effects enhance the frantic action no end.

Levels one and two are quite straightforward, but from then on it gets pretty tough, and later levels really tax your skills, with loads of very nasty aliens to blast into oblivion.

With plenty of secret bonuses to uncover, Thunderforce II will keep you coming back to top your higher score for quite some months. If you like a good blast, this is well worth looking at.

Presentation 79%
An options screen with sound test and three skill levels.

Graphics 81%
The sprites are alright, but the backdrops are excellent.

Sound 85%
Thumping music and plenty of corking sound effects and speech!

Playability 84%
Straightforward blasting from the off.

Lastability 80%
Nine tough levels to get through - and plenty of hidden bonuses.

Overall 82%
A fast and furious shoot-'em-up which should appeal to blasting fanatics.