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V is a new game from Ocean loosely based on the popular TV series. The idea is that you play the part of Donovan and you must complete several tasks on board the alien mothership in order to avert an invasion of the Earth.

Explosives must be set in key parts of the ship - water inlet, air purifier, central computer, nuclear reactor and docking hangar. The mission can be helped by getting the lethal (to the reptiles) red dust into the atmosphere and for this Donovan must first visit several laboratories to get the formula, The screen is split horizontally into three sections. The top two show two levels of the ship, one of which Donovan is currently on, while the bottom third has status information and the control panel.

Joystick or keyboard are used to move Donovan left or right. Upwards movement causes him to forwards roll in the current direction unless he is standing on a red beam pad in which case he will go up a level. If he is in front of a lateral door then he is taken to the next plane of the ship. In a laboratory the same movement picks up a piece of the red dust formula while in an arms dump it will rearm his laser. Downwards movement has several effects. At a lateral door it takes him back one plane.

On a red beam pad it takes him down a level and if pressed with fire it allows the communiputer to be used. The communiputer is a multipurpose device whose chief function is to locate the important parts of the ship.

On reaching a security door, Donovan activates the communiputer and it is then possible to arrange a code to match the correct one shown above. Working from the right it is first necessary to identify the next code symbol in the correct code. This same symbol must then be identified in the lower code. The cursor is moved beneath it and the fire button pushed so that it is switched with the symbol at the left hand end. The cursor is then moved beneath the position where this code will go and fire is pushed again. Working along the code in this way it soon becomes through a security door.

The huge game map is divided into an X, Y grid in which the X position is given by the current sector number (increasing to the right) and the Y position by the level number (increasing downwards). A third dimension, the current plane, also exists. Travel between planes can only be made by means of a lateral door. In each of the five planes there is a laboratory and it is only when they have all been visited that the red dust formula can be fully deduced.

There are yellow surveillance robots that report your position to the other robots, green maintenance robots and the kamikaze security robots that come straight for you. You have a laser to defend yourself but it runs out quite quickly. Each time you come into contact with a robot, the static charge it carries increases your heart rate until it becomes lethal. A period of rest allows it to return to normal rate.

As probably the world's greatest fan of V the TV series, I awaited the computer game with great interest. Unfortunately my initial reaction was a little disappointing. Some of the truly magic touches of the TV series, like the cardboard dialogue and outrageous happenings were missing.

However if you try to ignore the tie-in and just look at the game on its own merits then perhaps it isn't too bad. Certainly the map size (I would guess at least 5 x 25 x 25) is pretty good and should keep map makers busy for ages.

Robots following you don't always appear to be consistent though this does mean that you can avoid then by out running them. While I remain disappointed that 'there isn't a great crunching sound effect as you bite the head off a white rat I think the game is still worth a look.

V, the television programme, was so dreadful it was brilliant. V the computer program is so dreadful it is boring. Running around the spaceship is a bit like being lost in the London underground, and the communiputer is about as much use as one of those maps with lights at the big underground stations. Donovan jumps and tumbles to avoid the robots but seems to lase weight in mid-air.

Opening the combination locks is frustrating before you know how to do it and tedious after. The TV show was so full of spaceships, street fighting, espionage and general excitement that it is hard to see how Ocean mucked this one up.

I was a huge fan of the series - I never missed an episode - and was really looking forward to the game.

What do we get? Dross! What a load of old rubbish. Plant the bombs in the visitors' spaceship. Find the red dust. How many lizards in this game? None. How many little furry animals get eaten? None. How many lasers get fired? None - I don't call Donovan's pathetic gun a real laser.

How many robots did you see in the series? None. How many points out of 2,000 do I give this game? None. Why don't Ocean throw this in the bin and write something resembling the series.