Previous Next

Back in the dark ages, in the land of Lorraine, Zorn the evil Magelord has deserted the brotherhood and fled to the castle. You take on the role of Eldon The Spellbinder, and your task is to search the castle for Zorn and cast the ultimate spell.

Playing Spellbinder is very easy - just four directional keys are used, with an icon system for controlling your actions. This uses six function keys, and game play is made considerably easier if you make yourself a little function key strip. It's a pity that one is not provided.

During your travels through the castle you come across open chests, pictures, suits of armour, bookcases and other items from which you can obtain clues, ingredients for spells, and the pestle and mortar, vital to mix new spells.

Your journey through the castle is made much hazardous by the inhabitants. If they catch you, they take a percentage of your energy. Some are more powerful than others, for instance a death monk will take eight per cent, while a black witch only takes three per cent.

An enjoyable game is made much better by having a volume level control, rather than a simple on or off toggle. One poor feature of the game is the sprites - an unsightly black border often appears around them. I am sure that this could have been easily removed.

Spellbinder is worth playing - but £15 is a lot for an Electron or Compact game.

Richard Bellis