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Freescape - the most inventive game style ever, or a tedious pile of old boxes? The choice, dear readers, is yours. But first let's hear the evidence from both sides...

Innovation: The Freescape 3D environment is the closest we have ever come to virtual reality on a home computer. It allows the player to explore every aspect of the world they're placed in, and its detailed 3D style really lets you feel that you're "there". The games are very involving and very challenging.

Old boxes: Limited colour and a load of dull rectangles is hardly the graphics breakthrough of the century. The games themselves mainly involves tiresome walking, including lots of back-tracking. There are no real enemies t be found and anyone brought up on arcade blasters will find these games mighty uninspiring.

So that's that, but how does Castle Master fit into all this? The most popular and most critically acclaimed of the Freescapers, Castle Master contains some of the best 3D graphics ever and is a lot easier to get started in than most of the games that went before it. If you don't like this one, you won't like any of the Freescape games. This is as good as they get.

Castle Master has to score loads for the sheer technical perfection. It's impossible to fault really, but, be warned, at least one of the AA crew casts their vote firmly on the side of the "tedious load of old boxes" argument. It's a nice game for Balrogites and Dizzy fans, but those without the commitment to see a game through to the end will be wasting their money on this one. Sorry, but there you go.