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EXCITEMENT mounts. The green sprite is about to edge its way past a yellow one. They must not touch. Can you guide it through the narrow corridor?

Whew! Made it. Now where's that key? Spotting it in one corner you hurtle across the screen completely forgetting the danger. Splat! A blue sprite charges into you. Ah well, only two more lives to lose.

The title Dungeon Dare bears absolutely no resemblance to the game which is basic in the extreme. The graphics look as if they've just trooped out of the ark.

Try to pick up 46 keys which lie in 16 interconnecting rooms, patrolled by a number of sprites all moving on set paths. There is always enough room, if you time it right, to nip past these and pick up keys and jewels. The jewels regenerate your energy which disappears at an amazing rate.

There are two types of room. In the first your green sprite can move around freely, collecting objects and dodging others. The second leaves you with that horrible helpless feeling - you can move left and right along the ledges and platforms but not up and down. Consequently, as soon as you come to a gap you fall through it regardless of the alien sprite patrolling beneath you. If you time your fall you might be lucky and miss being zapped. Keys are almost impossible to collect on these screens unless you happen to drop past one.

Dungeon Dare must be completed before the time runs out - that is measured by a grid at the bottom of the screen and decreases very slowly. Fortunately, you are likely to be zapped long before the timer reaches zero.

Before you splurge out on this amazingly boring game, take a look at the packaging. The amateur attempt at design should set the warning bells ringing. There is no joystick control and the game is played with four keys - left, right, up and down. However, it must be said that though the graphics are mere hopping sprites, they do move swiftly with not a jerk between them.

Dungeon Dare is a waste of time and money, and is comparable to one of the more professional magazine listings. There are better games around.

Clare Edgeley

Publisher: Central Solutions Price: £1.99 Memory: 48K

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