This disc game is a companion to Dungeons of Ba, from the same supplier, and stars the same character, Norman the Warrior, with a different set of chambers to explore and puzzles to solve. The resemblance between the games is very striking; there isn't much to choose between them, but I think this is marginally the better of the two.

There are supposed to be 36 different screens for Norman to explore in his quest to find the Jasoomian diamond, but I only managed to reach about a third of those before running out of strength. Each screen has a number of hidden rooms for you to discover by carefully probing the walls. The objects to be picked up are not visible until you walk over them, so it is important to explore each room thoroughly when you first play, but as their locations do not change, if you draw a map - not an easy task, as the layout is quite complicated - you can skip the boring bits in subsequent games.

The giants, spiders and assorted other baddies are the biggest problem. You have to use the function keys to switch between shield, arrow, fight and take modes, and if you tangle with a monster in the wrong mode - all too easy to do - your strength evaporates with alarming speed. Ducking off the edge of a screen and back again is a good technique for getting rid of troublesome monsters.

If you enjoy graphic adventures, and you have a disc drive, this is a good buy.

M.N.