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Demon Stalkers... sounds almost as if it should have been the title to a fantasy/horror movie, but it is instead the newest in a series of Gauntlet clones released by Electronic Arts.

Demon Stalkers' gameplay is not all that unlike the original Gauntlet and offers the player or players, the same furious and long-lasting playability of play without the bugs.

This version has either you, or you and a partner, battling your way through a 100-level dungeon against the usual cast of monsters, generators, ghosts, uncanny creates and mice [Mice! - Ed] Oh my mistake, I mean rats... cute little white ones, too! All this adds up to an enjoyable and sometimes rather frustrating game.

Being killed rather quickly isn't all that uncommon as you will discover. To try to help you last that little bit longer is a selection of food, scrolls, weapons, amulets, magical bells, chests full of additional objects and of course, the essential keys which will all prove to be highly contributory aid to your quest.

The screen is displayed in the usual way with the playing area to the top of the screen, and the player's health, score, attributes and items collected towards the bottom.

All of these are boosted when you collect various objects and destroy all monsters.

To enter each level, you must progress past the oncoming entities and successfully reach a stairway which will take you to each lower level. The deeper into the dungeon you go, the more difficult the game becomes. Also... to travel to the lowest levels you must first give a password. This comes in the form of something called "Arthur's Magical Cypher". This is no actual magical procedure, but three small circular pieces of card joined in such a way that when the first word on the outer wheel is lined up with the second word on the inner wheel, the password is revealed on the third and innermost wheel... as if by magic!

Although it all sounds rather unbelievable and difficult to imagine without actually seeing the disc, but is really a game protection device to try to prevent all you potential racketeers' out there!

The game itself is highly addictive and extremely fun to play, especially when it's being played by two of you. The graphics and sound effects are of a moderate and above average quality, although the scrolling leaves a lot more to be desired. I've never seen a game jerk so much in all my life. I'm not sure what technique they're using, but they're definitely doing something wrong somewhere.

I am most certainly not trying to delude you, the game is good and that's that! Demon Stalkers is one of the very few good clones around, and at least deserves your consideration... let alone your money!