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EAS SOFTWARE/LANKHOR

Zero Gravity is one of those incredibly addictive games which always looks boring on somebody else's micro but materialises on monitors with startling regularity. It might not offer any major advancements in the field of computer technology but it will keep your fingers vibrating on the old joystick for hours on end.

It is very much like a 3D computer tennis game, viewed from behind the bat. The screen is split in two horizontally, so you can see the 'court' from both ends at the same time. As you move your baton around the playing area you hit the ball back into outer space. With practice you can also put spin on the ball and increase your score by aiming the ball at the sides of the court. Points awarded for this vary with the position you hit the 'space walls'.

The graphics in this German creation are impressive, if a little unimaginative, and the sound effects are punctuated with a range of mumbles, rather than true speech. At the start and end of each game the Amiga comes alive with music which might not go down particularly well at Stringfellows but would be enjoyed by an audience of Space travellers. The game could have been enhanced with the use of shadow, especially since learning to repel the ball takes almost as much time as finding an armadillo's brain (not an easy thing to do since it tends to go into hibernation).

Zero Gravity is one of those 'just one more go' games. It is the small details which make or break this type of game and here they have not been forgotten. It may never make the top ten games lists, but it will definitely find its way into Santa's sack many times over the Christmas period.