Producer: DK Tronics, 16K
£4.95

It's a bit of a cheat - to keep the program in 16K the very long- winded instructions are on one side of the cassette and the game on the other, which is irritating at first. The viewscreen works well with stars defining movement, but control is exceptionally sluggish and hitting the alien swarm is a bit like trying to kill ants with a pogo stick. In the end a slow and confusing game with no joystick option.

Producer: DK Tronics, 16K
£4.95

It's a bit of a cheat - to keep the program in 16K the very long-winded instructions are on one side of the cassette and the game on the other, which is irritating at first. The viewscreen works well with stars defining movement, but control is exceptionally sluggish and hitting the alien swarm is a bit like trying to kill ants with a pogo stick. In the end a slow and confusing game with no joystick option.

Producer: DK Tronics, 16K
£4.95

It's a bit of a cheat - to keep the program in 16K the very long-winded instructions are on one side of the cassette and the game on the other, which is irritating at first. The viewscreen works well with stars defining movement, but control is exceptionally sluggish and hitting the alien swarm is a bit like trying to kill ants with a pogo stick. In the end a slow and confusing game with no joystick option.

CRACKING THE EGG IS NO JOKE

When you hear that the universe is being threatened by a giant Ectogenetic Galactic Gamate - EGG to all you intelligent people - you may decide to catch the next bus out of the Universe.

In Spawn of Evil, however, a new game for the 16K Spectrum, you decide to fight and promptly put your spaceship into attack mode. Your job is not only to destroy the EGG before it becomes indestructible but also to kill all the Pulsoids, Cycloids and Aliens which breed from it.

The software is in two parts and each part can be run independently.

Your spaceship glides through a 3D representation of outer space where waves of spawn dart across the screen. We found it extremely difficult to hit anything.

The controls of the spaceship can be changed to meet your requirements but the speed at which a change of direction is accomplished is so slow that we could not hold many pulsoids in our gun sites long enough to fire a laser blast.

Despite the difficulty of getting used to, Spawn of Evil is a well-presented and graphically-impressive package. It can be obtained for £4.95 from dK'Tronics, Unit 2, Shire Hill Industrial Estate, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11 3AQ.

PRICE: £4.95
MEMORY REQUIRED: 16K

Deep in space alien spawn are going through a complex multi-stage breeding process, before maturing into their full attack potential. Your task is to break this cycle and so save yourself.

There are two screens - a long range scan in which the approximate position of the Spawn can be determined, and a short range window in which there is a sight to line up the aliens and destroy them. Two types of weapon are available - a short but accurate single blast, or a shower of less accurate fireballs.

The action is smooth and fast - often too fast. The idea of the game is pretty original, which coupled with the excellent graphics makes for a visually exciting game and one which is well worth playing.