Stars are born (or so Wikipedia tells us) when a vast cloud of matter grows compact and hot enough to spark off the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into deuterium and helium. This takes a good few hundreds of millions of years, and sounds infinitely more soothing than a bout of Zodiac Reactor.

In Zodiac Reactor, stars are born in minutes. The reactor in question lumps molecules of air, fire, earth and water together to make ickle starlets; your job is to catch those molecules by hitting an arrow key (corresponding to molecule colour, not angle of approach) once they enter a central target zone. Miss (you often will), and the reactor will take damage.

The game rotates three modes. Quad Mode bombards you from all four directions; Speed Burst challenges you to grab 100 molecules in a row, feeding them in at an accelerating pace; Orbital disgorges molecules from an orbiting generator, throwing in the odd, devastating Chaos Orb or bomb which must be blocked with space bar.

It's all about as laid-back as Margaret Thatcher, but a lot easier on the eyes and ears. Try Gravitex 2 and Casual Space if this suits.

Play Zodiac Reactor