FRED Publishing
£9.99 Disk
0382 534201

Isn't it amazing to think that underneath the cities, towns and villages of this sceptic isle there are so many things happening? There are underground caverns and pools, secret passages that only the government knows about, a smattering of nuclear bunkers, gas pipes, sewerage pipes, electric cables, water pipes and even the odd disused aquarium. All this activity goes on throughout the day and night while we, for the large part, remain completely oblivious to it. Amazing, eh? Nothing to do with SAM Waterworks but, I hope you agree, very interesting.

Waterworks, which I should be telling you about, is a bit like Backgammon in the sense that it's one of those games that you have to play to understand. If somebody tries to explain it to you, you just end up bemused, bothered and bewildered. The thing to do jump straight in at the deep end and, erm, ask somebody who's played before what you should do when you get stuck! Okay, let's load it up...

Right... It wants a password. I haven't got any passwords. Aagh! Jonathan! it wants a word and I don't know any. What shall I do? (Just press RETURN and you'll be okay, after that it'll tell you the level password whenever you start a new level. If you write them down, you can go straight to any level when you start another game. Jonathan) Ah, I Right, RETURN it is then!

It all looks a bit complicated so maybe I should read the instructions... Okay, as far as can tell, the idea is to get through lots of screens opening doors, drowning aliens and, this is the tough bit, adjusting the water level. Y'see, some bits of the screen and particular doors only become accessible when the water level has risen, or dropped, to a certain height. To adjust the water level you have to open different nozzles and turn switches on and off and also lay some pipes. Oh, and there are spikes and a submarine as well. That's the theory bit over, back to the game and try out this knowledge.

The first level is quite easy, as all you have to to do is move the pieces of pipe around to form one long connecting pipeline. This is a common occurence throughout Waterworks and will probably mean lots of comparisons with Pipemania. Ah, the second level... Blimey, what am I meant to do here? Jonathan! What's happening here? (You're going to have to pick up that key, to open that door up there. Now, by turning switches on and off you open other doors which let the water come flowing through. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. At the moment you don't want any water coming in and you've got a choice of three switches. Click on one of them... Ah, that was the wrong one to click on. You've drowned the whole screen. Start again. Jonathan). Oh well, at least I'll know which one not to switch on next time.

Playing Waterworks involves logical thinking, the process of elimination and a lot of trial and error. I know I've probably made it all sound horrendously difficult, but it isn't that bad. The graphics are nice and big and everything is cunningly, and usefully, colour-coded. So the bits of pipes you can move are red. and the ones that stay put are blue, likewise all the different switches and taps are easily recognisable (unless you've got a black and white telly, when it does get a tad more confusing). Another thing in its favour is the fact that it's so easy to control, even if you don't know what nozzle to open! According to FRED Publishing, this isn't a puzzle game but a kind of three in one puzzle-arcade-strategy game. Hmmm, I think Waterworks can go on the 'puzzlies'shelf myself. The aliens do seem to be a desperate attempt to include an arcade element but, seeing as they move in set patterns, you've just got to try and remember those patterns, which a bit like an IQ puzzle to me! Now I like games and I'm sure another one won't do much harm. (But we've got loads of blimmin' puzzle games! We want shoot-'em-ups, we want blood, we want violence A multitude of SAM owners) Okay if you've had enough of SAM puzzlers then this could be the last straw, which would be a shame cos it's a nice little game. I'd buy it. If I had ten quid.