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Described as an unusual adventure game, Abyss consists of a grid to be traversed. After moving from one section of the grid to another, a random puzzle is set.

These are a mixture of mathematical problems, arcade games and memory tests. The arcade games may sound great but really only consist of, for example, avoiding three blobs which home in on you as they move down the screen. Similarly the other problems don't cause much difficulty, with tasks such as remembering a number of letters in sequence, or answering (within a time limit) if the sum of two numbers is corect.

The graphics are poor and some of the checks on the mazes are terrible - in one case it's possible to come out of the entrance, walk round the maze and reach the exit, thus solving the problem! Another puzzle has a bad feature which means it can only be completed on its second occurrence. It begins with a few lines of instructions to be read at the top of the screen. The object is to read a word flashed on the screen, but as this appears simultaneously with the instructions it's impossible to accomplish on your first attempt. Other difficulties are caused by bad combinations of colours which can only be read on clear monitoris or monochrome TVs.

Abyss is just a collection of small tasks which any semi-competent programmer could write, and really should not be sold under the title of 'adventure'.

M R Cooper