Fancy yourself as a bit of a surfer, do ya? Or, perhaps, you're of the urban ilk - the hardened skate rat variety? Then again, maybe you like your waves frozen - snow boarders, ahoy!!!! Whatever your preferred buzz, Psybadek is designed to appeal to you.

To call it a simple surfing sim, however, would be to sell it short: Psybadek serves up arcade style shoot 'em ups and RPG gaming scenarios within the game itself. That's right, if you're not wrapped up in the boarding action - surfing through the jungle, over the ice, through the underworld or across the desert - you'll be blowing psycho penguins outta the water, avoiding giant tumble dryers, dodging rabid beavers or passing prickly porcupines.     Sound like a bad trip? Don't worry, Psybadek has been blessed with a sound track from dance music heaven to soothe your frayed nerves, including some mad big beat tunes by the likes of the Bentleys crew and the inimitable David Holmes. (Start of a trend? Let's hope so. The more dance music on video games the better, we reckon!)       However, despite some sweet surfing action, the game-play doesn't really live up to the sound track. Style, it seems, is used to disguise the fact that the game itself doesn't really deliver much of a buzz. In short, it all gets pretty boring after a coupla goes. OK, so the main characters might be decked out in funky Vans gear, and the sound track might read like a list of Big Beat supremos, but ultimately these things should be used to enhance an intricate and absorbing game, not to distract gamers from the shallowness of the game-play. Still, at least you won't break anything this way.......Surfs up, dudes! Let's rideàà

Disappointing or not, we've still got copies to give-away!!!! TO WIN A COPY - all you have to do is answer this simple question what's 'a billy cord'. Answers on a cyber postcardààà.

verdict: limited game-play makes for a short shelf life. rating: 4/10
Words: Ralph Perring