Picture the scene - an idyllic Friday afternoon in the office, Glenn Campbell crooning about the time he went to Phoenix, AF editorial staff arguing about the merits of pop group Oasis and who is the finest supermodel - when suddenly, the peace is shattered.

What unseemly rocket is this? What could possible necessitate the need for the sound of guns, bombs, tanks, planes, ships, soldiers and submarines on a day so full of the joys of Summer? And surely such mindless violence should at least be held over to a Monday morning?

But no, it could not, for this noise is Banshee, a blast-'em-to-kingdom-come affair which harbours no serious thoughts of plot or narrative development. You simply shoot things. Anything. Everything. Suffice to say, it's 1999 (I was er, dreaming when I wrote this) and bad folk have taken over the world. Only you and your Banshee biplane can save it (and your mate, if you're playing in the rather excellent simultaneous two-player mode).

Banshee has many influences, the most obvious being the 1942 coin-op, but in the wonderful animation you can spot elements of both Desert Strike and Cannon Fodder. Strangely, the looks are not immediately appealing but that's because you don't get a great deal of time to look at the scenery. The attention to detail is stunning though, particularly on the soldiers when they emit a blood curdling 'aaaarggh' after being set alight; and when you blow their parachutes out of the sky and watch them crumple to the ground.

Set over four levels, this vertically scrolling shoot-em-up has wide and varied terrain. Even though four levels sound a tad paltry, you are treated to a fair few changes of scenery over any one level.

And you cannot simply plough through this, guns blazing and dodging the bullets, because you often have to fly through a bridge or around a particularly tall church. You don't get far without collecting pick-ups either - both offensive and defensive.

Banshee should challenge even the most seriously committed fans of the genre. Every so often, baddies appear that take a heck of a gunning down, and that's before you encounter the devil's own end-of-level bosses.

Fortunately, the screen scrolls right and left too (about half a screen each way), so sometimes you can manoeuvre your way past the swine with the minimum of damage, but with so many foe to tackle you can't hide for long.

This is a classic shoot-'em-up. Sure, we've seen this sort of thing many times before and inevitably the gameplay can seem a little repetitive, but rarely do they look or play quite as well as this. Banshee breaks no boundaries, it blows them out of the sky.

Suzie from Core Design brought Banshee down to the AP office the other day. Steve M and I plugged in joysticks and blasted our way through until we got to the Actic zone, and we both simultaneously spotted a polar bear making its way peaceably across the frozen wastes.

Seconds later, we had poured hundreds of rounds, a few bombs and a couple of missiles into it, and this noble beast of the tundra was lying on its back in a pool of blood, the vivid crimson standing out on the pure white of the snow. Even though it was her game, Suzie looked shocked. "Ahh, you did not have to do that", she cried, tears brimming in her eyes. We looked at her. That is where you are wrong, we both thought. We had to do it. We HAD to. Banshee made us do it.

BEAN
Banshee is all about shooting things. Shooting anything, in fact. We have seen this sort of thing a million times before, of course, from most SEUCK games to the excellent arcade blaster 1942, but it is rare for one to look this good. Yeah, I know, we are always going on about how gameplay is far more important than graphics, and it is true, but when you are looking at a genre of games as limiting as the vertically scrolling shoot-em-up, it is attention to detail that counts, and this one is dripping with tiny animations that you only notice after you have played a level a few times. The detail in it is incredible, but I will hold off wowing about it for a few paragraphs.

The game, then. Well, it is four levels and it is all about getting rid of some invading alien nasties. Since the baddies are siding with the alien scum, there is no need to feel guilty about killing them, so that is all right then. Four levels might not sound like much, but they are massive and variable and in many cases you are getting three or more scenery changes without a disk change, so hoorah for that.

A second player can join in at any time, so you always let the best player battle through the first few bits. Blasting certain objects (you soon find out which ones) release power-ups which you can change by shooting them. Usually you get the option of an offensive power-up, a defensive one and some points, so it is up to you whether you repair your shield or go for more firepower. This means that at the same point in two separate games, a single player could have no extra weapons, or two players could be fully armed.

SIDHE
Bearing in mind this wide range of possibilities, the programmers have done a pretty job of balancing the game out, although there are still some points (especially in two-player games) when you outgun the baddies totally.

You cannot just rely on getting bigger guns, though, because power-ups tend to come in clumps during heavy action, so there is a good chance of missing them as they drift off the screen. The game's area is about one-and-a-half screens wide, which looks great and works well, as it means that you can sometimes skirt round hot spots like battleships or buildings.

The standard shoot-em-up technique of wiggling around the screen with the fire button tapped down won't always work either, as there are things like towers and bridges to avoid, and even rock slides to dodge. And that is before you take all of the baddies into account.

FAIRIES
And there are hundreds of them, from foot soldiers to motorcycles to gangster limos and tanks. The air is full of planes, balloons, parachutists and helicopters, the sea are chocka with boats and subs, and the land is crawling with hostiles, and each and every one of them is drawn in loving detail. There is none of this generic baddy nonsense here, no way. The snow levels have skidoos, skiers and soldiers in little furry parkas, while all the troops are in desert camouflage in the, um, desert and plain old khakis for that all-important around-town combat.

The detail of the thing.. Well, where do you start? If you shoot up a phone box, blood drains out of it. If you nail a parachutist, his 'chute crumples and he splats on the ground. The tarpaulin at the back of trucks is lifted to reveal troops, and then the interior is lit by their gun flashes.

Eskimos furtively look around before detonating their igloos, but only if you do not blow them away first. Train carriages marked 'Danger' go off with such a whump that the screen whites out, and you actually see soldiers popping up from behind walls rather than just appearing. The graphic artists worked overtime on this one.

There also seem to be two levels of weather over the action, so from time to time you find yourself flying through drifting fog, driving rain or blustery snow. Having two levels means that the rain or snow can fall in two directions, which gives a realistic effect that also looks jolly nice.

PUNCH
Banshee is hard enough to be challenging, but you always get that extra bit further. The relentless blasting is all a bit one track, but throwing tall buildings into your path forces you to think a little, so it is not entirely mindless. Mostly mindless, but not quite entirely.

The only things I do not like are the end-of-level bosses, but that is really a problem with me as there is nothing I hate more than battling through a level only to meet a swift and seemingly pointless death at the hands of a rock-hard boss monster. And of course, the entire thing looks beautiful. Or did I already mention that a couple of times?

Aaargh! It's interesting to note that with all the technological breakthroughs in the last ten years, the one thing that many gamesplayers love is a blast from the past, and Core Design's latest offering is a tasty morsel to fill that appetite. One of the most influential shoot 'em ups ever has to have been the wonderful Bally Midway coin op 1942, an airborne tale of death and destruction over land and sea.

This was then followed up with the less successful 1943, and then by the more popular than ever Flying Shark. The formula was always the same - you piloted a poorly armed bi-plane over enemy territory blasting airbound targets and ground based opposition alike, powering up your weapons as you went along, without scruples or morals, with the eventual aim of killing everything that ever lived. In these politically correct times, of course, such a game could never exist happily, could it?

Core obviously don't think so, as Banshee clearly proves. The two designers and creators of the game, Danish duo Soren and Jacob are happy to admit that they have borrowed many ideas from the classic coin ops mentioned above, but have added enough of their own flavour to make it original.

Still, there's some plot to keep you lot happy. The year is 1999, and no world wars have ever taken place. Mankind has evolved and developed along a completely different thread, and now we have finally reached a state of war. Unfortunately, technology is still quite primitive (this is where the bi-plane comes in), and not many people are actually that skilled at fighting. Enter you, ace pilot extraordinaire to save the day, or not as the case may be.

Set over four levels with increasing difficulty, Banshee starts out over the familiar 1942 landscape of sea and beaches, but soon evolves into towns and cities, deserts, snow scapes, swamps and eventually a hi tech warzone where everything is thrown at you.

Of course you are attacked every step of the way, and every so often you have to fight a bad guy who is not only much larger than you, but also takes considerably more hits than you to destroy. Killing some enemies leaves behind floating icons that can be collected and used to increase your weapons capabilities from a simple forward firing cannon to eight-way missiles, homing bullets and smart bombs. But you didn't really need me to tell you any of that, did you?

The game looks fantastic, and considering it's A1200 only, so it should. No expense has been spared on the graphics, with over 3,000 frames of animation in all, covering everything from planes exploding to little men racing across the screen with their heads on fire because you have just blown up the truck they were driving in. Entering a secret code gets you info the really slick stuff, however, and I'm not going to spoil the surprise and tell you what sort of thing happens there!

One idea that has been quite up really lifted from 1942 is the barrel roll. When things get too difficult, hitting the space bar (or the second fire button if you're playing with a joypad), your plane races to the top of the screen, where it performs a mammoth loop, which takes it back to the bottom of the screen.

While it is doing this, it is completely invincible, although it can still damage other craft by smashing into them while it is doing this. A very handy tool to have, I think you'll agree. However, you are limited to the number of rolls you can actually perform and although can collect more in the shape of power ups, you still need to use them very sparingly indeed.

Banshee is a very difficult game. There are always plenty of horrible ways to die, and you won't be able to let your concentration lapse for a moment. Not that you would really want to, as it is fiendishly addictive. With alt the playability of a classic game of old, Banshee is one AGA title that no self-respecting 1200 owner should be without.

There are a few things in life more satisfying than the vertically-scrolling top-down shoot-em-up, but I cannot think of any at the moment. So Banshee (Core Design, 0332 297797, £29.99) it is then. This game's hero has one of the finest names around - Sven Svardensvart, and it is he who must save the world from the equally exceptionally-monikered Blardax Maldrear, using only a bi-plane which emits a most pleasant drone.

But these details are trifling. Banshee is simply about blowing things away over four massive levels and tackling the odd horrible boss. The graphics are as pretty as a picture - there are some very sweet rotating ray-traced enemies - but you are so busy shooting folk you do not get a great deal of time to admire the surroundings, although the excellent two-player mode offers a little more respite. Banshee is one of the loveliest and most playable shoot-em-ups around.

Imagine a planet that has never had any world wars. One where technology hadn't really evolved at any speed, simply because it didn't need to. A world where peace rules, and the most threatening thing that could ever happen would be for someone to invent the Microwave Oven.

Now into this world bring an alien invader, one who has more technology than you could ever imagine. One who sees this other Earth as an easy target. Once you've managed to get this picture into your head, then introduce the element of the one man army. A man whose father was murdered by the invading force many years ago for refusing to invent the Microwave Oven. The only man with the know-how to put together a flying combat machine - otherwise known as an airplane, and take on the might of the invading force.

There you have the plot to one of the best shoot 'em ups ever seen on the Amiga.

STOP AND STARE
Designed and coded by the two new Danish faces at Core Design (Soren Hannibal and Jacob Andersen), Banshee is a return to the classic values of computer games. Almost everyone who has stopped and spent half a day playing it, which is basically everyone in the office, has remarked at how similar Banshee is to the classic arcade game 1942. This is no bad thing though, as that game was so playable and addictive that you couldn't wish for a better role model.

If you haven't collected your free bus pass, then you might not know what 1942 actually is. Essentially, it's a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up. Set in the air, with a bi-plane, or pair of bi-planes in two player mode, fighting everything that the world has to throw against them.

Much like Banshee where attacks can come from all directions, both from the air and the ground, from man and machine, and you have to try and avoid it all. There aren't many things that can't be obliterated by your incessant firepower, but then again there aren't many things that won't fire back at you given half the chance.

When you begin the game, you have a rather weedy little plane, with a single pathetic cannon to defend yourself. In the tradition of all the great shoot 'em ups, though, power ups are never far away. Simply destroy a couple of waves of attacking enemies, and a small tile will appear before you, slowly drifting towards the bottom of the screen. Shoot this a couple of times to change it to the weapon you want most, and then collect it. In no time at all, you'll be firing powerful shells in up to eight directions, while letting loose bombs and homing missiles, and generally wiping out everything in sight with the minimum of effort.

BLUMMIN' HARD
That isn't to say that Banshee is particularly easy. Far from it. This is probably one of the toughest shoot 'em ups I have ever come across. There is just so much going on at any one time that you're going to find it hard to get to the end of even the first (long) level, let alone anywhere near the end of the fourth and final one. There can be over twenty objects firing at you at any one time, which allows very little room to manoeuvre.

This is the real reason why Banshee is so addictive. It really is a test of skill rather than a test of luck. If you're fast with a joypad and your visual reflexes are good enough, then theoretically you should be able to get through the game, as there's not a single point, on any level, where you die through bad design. Mind you, you'd have to be pretty damn good to do it.

Banshee looks superb, the graphics are incredibly detailed and include some gory touches such as bloodied soldiers running in panic from destroyed tanks, it sounds great and plays great, Let's face it, Banshee is blummin' great!