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When Level 9 pulled out of the BBC market with Price Of Magic, we adventurers thought we had lost the best adventure creators and were doomed to a life of one line description adventures. At this time, however, another company was starting to gain a reputation in the BBC adventure market... a company by the name of Robico.

Their new game, Blood Of The Mutineers, promises to be the first in a series of Captain Blizzard adventures. So how does it stand up against that other great adventure series, Saga Of A Spy?

Two things struck me as I read the instructions. The first was that the interpreter on the game was going to be at least as good as, if not better than, Myorem. The second was a rather obvious lack of background - just six lines! Still, I booted up the disc and started adventuring.

The start of the game is very much against the clock, a pattern which extends through most of the adventure. It is essential to do certain things in a certain order, at certain times in order just to survive. In fact, your first two moves must be correct if you are to avoid a rather quick and nasty death.

Once you are safe you can take a bit more time to explore. The number of locations accessible at this point is small and you are told very clearly if you go beyond them. The sequence of saving your life is long and requires a great deal of thought - suffice it to say that even the most useless appearing items do serve a purpose. One snag that nearly left me crying here involves a slight exactness to the game which demands you are holding an item before using it, but I suppose it's realistic if nothing else!

Escaping the ship is easy enough, even if it does involve one heck of an old cliche. This leads to the most obscure puzzle in the game - unless you read the text as carefully as the instructions suggest.

Getting to the island and surviving on it bear the old Robico trademarks of being obvious while needing a great deal of through. However, experienced adventurers should get through this without too many problems.

The final section at the temple is over quickly and draws to something of an anti-climax, no doubt due to lack of memory. The ending in particular is another cliche and this somewhat lets the game down.

However, the game stands up well against other Robico outings. It bears all the usual trademarks - solveable mazes, logical puzzles, reams of text and an engrossing story. Although smaller than previous efforts, Blood Of The Mutineers rates as one of the best ever memory-based adventures for the BBC.

A must for all adventurers