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This is a seriously welcome re-release for what's generally agreed to be the best vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up ever written (first reviewed in The One, way, back in Issue 11).

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Xenon II is one of the most flattered games going, as the many innovative features that the Bitmap Brothers worked into it have been ripped off by most other development teams.

The basic action involves flying through a very restricted chasm, taking out anything that moves... and even a few things that don't. What really sets it apart though are the inventive power-ups which are bought at the shop which appear twice during each level. One really clever idea is that you can sell old power-ups to provide funds to buy new (and better) ones, Naturally there are some very nasty end-of-level guardians to be done away with too.

The whole thing is nicely topped off with three-layer parallax scrolling and the Bomb The Bass MegaBlast soundtrack. If you haven't got Xenon II in your collection, now is the perfect time to put that situation right.