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MICROSPHERE'S Skyranger is one of those games which looks great until you start to play it.

The idea is to fly your copter above the city to rid the skies of hostile Watchers - Drags, Trums, Rics and Dores. 10 points for guessing which micros they are named after.

The screen is impressive. As well as the view from your cockpit depicting the city's skyscrapers there is an array of instrument panels including altitude, radar and fuel.

When fuel runs out you can land at fuelling stations if you can find them. An indicator on the control panel tells you when one is in close proximity and it is up to you to penetrate the jungle of buildings and find it.

The screen is yellow with black wire frame graphics and when night falls those colours are reversed. Occasionally a sea mist creeps in, totally obscuring all graphics.

Trums, Rics and the rest of the crew are black blobs and unrecognisable. The radar will flash red when one is within target range.

If you crash or touch a building the cockpit window will crack. At the end it looks as though someone has been at the screen with a sledgehammer which would not be at all surprising if playability is taken into account.

The music consists of annoying and inappropriate jingles, totally unsuited to this type of game.


Publisher Microsphere Price £5.95
Memory 48K Joystick Programmable
**

Clare Edgeley

SKY RANGER
Microsphere / £5.95

Ross: The 'Watchers' are computerised law enforcers of the rather over-zealous kind - and they need to be stopped. As a Skyranger, your task is to fly your jetcopter around the city, ambushing the Watchers and blasting them into smithereens with your ultrasonic pulse generator.
The screen has a large window at the top left which allows you to peek outside; it's surrounded by various instruments that show speed, height, fuel and the position of your foe.
The view seen from the window is one of tall buildings, drawn in 3D-style vector graphics and through which you have to manoeuvre. The 360-degrees radar shows the relative position of the Watchers and allows you to zip through the maze of streets on an intercepting course. If you manage to get in line with one, check your altitude and range, then blast it. Of course, all the time you're moving your fuel is running out.
If you manage to destroy enough Watchers, you're given a code that allows entry to the next level. Overall, I have to express disappointment. The program seems technically proficient but it lacks playability and I found myself getting bored with it. 2/5

Dave: Nice graphics - shame about the game! Useful practice for the day when all cities look like New York and everyone owns a helicopter. I think I'll give it a miss. 1/5

Roger: Very pretty, very clever ... and what's the point! The only thing I managed to kill was myself - all in all, a very unsatisfying experience. 3/5