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Morag the Shapeshifter has seized the crown of Dumnovia and is out to find the other four. This is how the scene is set for Dragontorc, the sequel to the Hewson Consultants bestseller, Avalon.

A Torque is an ancient Celtic necklace that consists of many strands twisted together forming a band which is decorated and worn around the neck as a status symbol. The Dragontorque was an ancient magical symbol, possession of which guaranteed rule of all the British Isles.

We are told in a poem that the Dragontorque was melted down and made into the crowns of the Five Kingdoms of Britain in order that the Torque's power could be lessened. All went well until Morag of the North caused Death of the high King Vortigern and stole his crown as the first part of the Torque. At this stage our hero, Maroc, star of Avalon, enters the game, called by the seal of Merlin he is entrusted with the defence of the realm and the task of rescuing Merlin from Morag.

The game is described as an 'Adventure movie'. You have control of Maroc and can move him through the many locations of the game by using a joystick. The screen scrolls very smoothly left and right, but Maroc can also leave the screen by up and down movement in which case the screen is changed instantly. The graphics are of a very high quality and the screen is very colourful with a decorated border on display permanently around it.

At the bottom of the screen is the picture of a scroll which contains all the spells that Maroc knows, these may be selected by scrolling the scroll (what else?) by using the joystick and pressing fire when the correct spell title is opposite a displayed arrow. When a spell is selected you once again control Maroc by joystick, so that he may use the current spell. As the game progresses Maroc may pick up magical items that will give him another spell, if this happens the spell is added to the scroll.

Another main feature of Dragontorque is 'Sensory Animation' which is what Hewson have called their unique form of creature interaction. That is to say each creature that Maroc meets in the game has an attitude towards him, e.g. hate, like, distrust, etc., but this is not fixed and changes, depending upon Maroc's actions. Thus Maroc must use all the creatures in the game if he is to succeed in his mission.

You are able to save the game at any stage which is useful as it will take many hours of hard work to solve Dragon torque and thus rise from the lowest Magician to the exalted Lore Lord.

In conclusion I must say that if you Like this sort of game then Dragontorc is for you, however this game does take a lot of getting used to and I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner.

J.G.D.