The Exterminator

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 2/10

Sound 3/10

Originality 7/10

Lasting Interest 1/10

Overall 3/10

Leslie Allan 3/10

MACHINE: Spectrum 16/48K JOYSTICK: No SUPPLIER: Algray PRICE: £5.50 There's a Roman gladiator on this game's cover, attacking swooping eagles with a sword. It's the first clue that things aren't quite right inside. You are in control of a flying saucer flying in formation with a flock of flapping birds! The birds are shot in the direction of motion using the 'Avian Genetic Mutation Destructor', a vicious weapon which sounds like a squeaking mouse. Meanwhile, incredibly fast missiles come from the side of the screen. Down 26 birds without losing your five saucers and stage two is unleashed. You're back on the ground now, a figure wearing a green sweater amidst a minefield of the birds' eggs. Two grinning robot guards with Meccano legs go for you as soon as you're out of a small safe area. With five lives, you collect as many eggs as possible. Exterminator's graphics are simple, its sound effects laughable, and its concepts absurd in the extreme. The game is so silly it's interesting, and it deserves applause for sheer audacity.