MACHINE: Spectrum 48K
CONTROL: Keys, Kemp
FROM: Channel 8, £9.95

Are you a frustrated freak? Do you enojoy that tensedp-up feeling? If so, Borzak is the game for you. It's not that each stage is so hard (they're really quite simple) it's just that they go on for so long that sooner or later you make a mistake, either through lack of concentration or, more likely, through boredom. Thus you can play for ages without getting anywhere at all.

As Borzak, the amazing bug-eyed beastie from Betelgeuse, your aim in the game is to travel through the six screens to reach your intergalactic craft. The reason why you have fallen to Earth is that while travelling in space you made a small mistake and got sucked into the Earth's atmosphere.

With dismay you realise that you are 85 Zorgs (85 whats?) away from your spacecraft and this is where the game starts. You control Borzak and you have to get back to your ship. On the first screen there are holes which eat you up if you jump into them - so don't!

To complicate the matter further there are flying objects (I think they're birds) which I have an uncanny knack of cracking my head open on.

Next the second screen and now you are being attacked by mutant frogs which are beautifully drawn. The third, fourth and fifth screens have obstacles such as pools of water and brick walls (risky), dragonflies and snakes (or are they worms?).

The sixth and final screen is the real killer. At first it seems similar to the first screen with holes and birds, but a huge steel claw emerges to drag you down.

The game has some nice options - for example, you may play on any level. Colour is well used and graphics are jerky but well designed. Overall, not very exciting.

To be honest I'm not sure how to approach this game. It's sort of midway between Moon Buggy and Scramble but without the guns.

Graphics are reasonably good but they suffer from some flicker and the quality of the drawings could have been improved. Sounds is used sparingly but it's good when it does crop up. Whether I'd pay the best part of seven quid for it is debatable.

ROB PATRICK

Due to the size of the characters the graphics look impressive initially, but are unconvincingly animated.

As for gameplay, all I can say is if you want to get someone REALLY annoyed - buy the Borzak.

PETER WALKER

There is certainly nothing to set your pulse racing here.

The first screen is similar in concept to the classic Moonbuggy game of the arcade and was the only screen that kept me interested for a while.

The only possible motive that anyone could have for finishing this highly tedious game is the fact that at the end Borzak goes back to his own planet...

MARTYN SMITH

Borzak from Betelgeuse reporting. Am now making my way back to my spaceship over rough terrain and marsh. Leap the crater, and the next, switch on the anti-gravity device, float along there, end of level one.

"Starting level two now. Aaaargh, a giant frog. Speed up, leap, and over. Now another one, speed up, leap and... It moved, unfair. Back to the beginning, defeated by the frogs again.

"Sneaky level selection allows me to skip to level three. Over the hurdle, over the crater, anti-gravity over the next three hurdles. Splat, into the next crater.

"Switch to level four. A dragonfly! Duck, then leap the snake. Under, over, under, over. Phew. Now, over the stepping stones, over the leaping fish and under the spiders. Only level five to complete now."

Guiding Borzak through all five levels, back to his ship will be a challenge for all but the most experienced arcade enthusiasts. The keys are simple to use, but knowing when and where to jump, duck or speed up is a skill which needs weeks to perfect.

Borzak is produced for the Spectrum by Channel 8 Software, 51 Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire and costs £6.95.