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Among the most recent games from The 4th Dimension comes this one, the first to feature an excuse to step into the character of a sprite.

Beyond brief, reassuring and thug-like instructions about penetrating and negotiating four levels of castle, the documentation is rather vague. You are given a few details to help you get started, but you'll soon run through your four lives on your first attempt, leaving you viewing a dismantled skeleton.

Playing Man at Arms brings back memories of various classic BBC Micro programs such as Repton, Ravenskull and even Bonecruncher - all pioneered by Superior. However, author Matthew Atkinson of Repton 3 fame fails really to convert his old ideas to the more colourful 32-bit micros successfully.

The game is still quite intriguing, and the sequence of events unpredictable. The display scrolls smoothly in the four-directions, albeit sluggishly, over a huge playing area.

Out to get you are venomous snakes and castle natives. Although some snakes mindlessly spend their time slithering around the levels, unworried by your pres ence, the majority have your death in mind.

Progress is against the clock and you can chop the opposition into bare bones, earning much-desired bonus points, or plug for a temporary invincible status. In general, thunderbolt sword blazing is the best tactic.

There's a strategic streak to the action, which you'll have to learn as you go along. Stone boulders fall if not supported, crushing your barbarian warrior should he venture the wrong way. Barrels and other wardrobe-looking graphics are obstacles which can be negotiated by force or moved.

Gameplay can get extremely bewildering at times, and in this respect the inlay blurb is correct - promising as it does many late nights sweating over your beloved micro.

Whether you'll be engrossed enough in the gameplay to ignore the occassional bugs is another question. Animation appears to have been coded on a clockwork system, and kept to a minimum wherever possible.

Acceptable on an 8-bit micro maybe, but not on a graphics happy Archimedes. While the razzle-dazzle effect used to shift between screens is frustrating, I missed having a map of the area. Even if this was only available at the lower levels it would've allowed problems to be tackled in a less confused manner.

You can control your barbarian by joystick, mouse or redefinable keyboard.

Unfortunately the mouse control is very difficult to use despitethe sensitivity setting.

Sound is where Man At Arms scores most. Equipped with user-selectable tunes, this plunder and havoc game also has a whole family of sound effects: Your warrior can be heard breathing if you stop moving, while panels open with a wood-awakening creak.

Unfortunately at times the game has an amateurish feel and doesn't stand up as a worthy Archimedes adventure. It may suffice as a poor man's Ravenskull, but I can't recommend it.

Matthew Ridd