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Let's face it, if you want in-depth, detailed games, then multi-loads are something you can't avoid - 64K of memory just isn't enough. Even so, there are three unpardonable sins which no multi-load has the right to commit, and Dragons Of Flame is guilty of two of them. It doesn't multi-load presentation screens, but it *does* force you to reload Level One even if you died on it, and automatically restarts when loading is complete - if you go and make a cup of tea between levels, chances are you'll be greeted with a game over message when you return!

Dragons Of Flame, sequel to US Gold's first AD&D licence, Heroes Of The Lance, sees the land of Krynn in deep trouble. The Draconian armies swept down from his sleevies (think about it), and overran the Elven lands of Qualinost (try saying that when you've had a few!).

They already hold the Southern fortress of Pax Tharkas, and will soon crush the Elven folk between it and their devilish hordes. Your job is to defeat Takhisis, the queen of the dark. Exciting, eh?

Alas, Dragons Of Flame is far from gripping. Again the AD&D licence is only for show, with only token attempts at roleplaying included. Instead of preserving the statistics-and-dice method of combat, the programmers have opted for a tacky arcade sequence featuring blocky, sluggish sprites and no skill at all.

Character statistics play very little part in the proceedings, which is unforgivable for a product passing itself off as a roleplaying game. Worst of all, your entire party becomes one sprite! You can choose which individual member fights the monster, but forget about ganging up on him. You can't even separate on the 'map' screens, so you're doomed to wander around together - does this sound like serious role-playing, or does it sound like Golden Axe?

On the plus side, the spells and weapons remain faithful to AD&D and a save game option is provided, but this isn't enough to rescue it. Dragons Of Flame is at best a weak beat-'em-up, and could never cut the mustard as a bona fide roleplayer. If you're looking for a painless introduction to computer RPGs, check out Hero Quest or Space Crusade instead.