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So what exactly is a progressive shoot-'em-up? Well, as opposed to a shoot-'em-up where you simply blast everything in sight from beginning to end, a progressive blaster allows you to collect extra weapons and features to customise your ship as you go along. Sidewinder was the first of its kind to do this, but extra weapons were rather limited. Zynaps, however, is very much more in the mould of coin-op classics such as Nemesis and Salamander, where a wide range of extra powers are available to you.

The instructions don't waste any time or paper feeding you six paragraphs of uninspired dross about mutants from some obscure alien planet invading Earth - no, they just tell you to get out there and kill as much as you can, which is how a good shoot-'em-up should be presented really.

The similarity that Zynaps bears to games like Salamander becomes apparent when it loads. The action takes place over 14 levels of horizontally scrolling alien territory, but unlike other horizontal scrollers such as StarRay, you can't change direction and you can't affect the speed of the scrolling. Zynaps employs a fixed speed continuous scrolling technique which forces you on even if you would rather stop and make a cup of tea.

Aliens tend to attack in waves rather than singularly, usually in a caterpillar-type formation. Collision with aliens or scenery is immediately fatal, and so it helps to blast the beggars before they get too close. Clearing a wave of aliens results in a floating icon being left behind; fly over it while holding down the fire button, and your speed or firepower is bumped up. Collecting an icon without the fire button pressed changes the type of feature activated when you collect another icon while holding down fire.

It's a simple enough system that works well. Among the features that can be collected are extra speed, more bullets, bombs (used to destroy any land-based target and missiles), and missiles which lock onto and destroy enemy ships automatically.

At the end of each level, a large mothership appears, spewing out deadly space mines. When it finally bites the (space)dust the level is completed and you pass onto the next. Complete all 14 levels and... well, just wait and see.

Zynaps rates as one of the best ST blasters to appear to date. Hewson have done a remarkable job of converting it to the ST, and credit must go to Pete Lyon for providing some neat graphics, which reach near-coin-op quality in some places. If the game has a weak point, it's the sound. The loading theme and high score tune are good enough, but the in-game effects are rather poor. Still the gameplay is addictive, and the difficulty level is just right, so it should have ST gamers stuck to their joysticks for a good few weeks after purchase.

Zynaps is an enjoyable slice of blasting action, and the fact that there are hardly any progressive shoot-'em-ups available, let alone decent ones is all the more reason to take a look. It's what your ST has been waiting for.

The Amiga version of Zynaps is shaping up very well indeed. It should look very much like its ST counterpart, and should play the same too. The only major difference will be the sound, which is enhanced to make use of the Amiga's superior capabilities. Expect to see something at the PC Show - or failing that, late September.