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Extracts From The Journal Of Oola, Champion Of The Dungeon

Third Day
Two days and nights now we've been wandering around in this dungeon and all I've got to show for it is a gash down one leg, welts on my shoulder from the weight of my backpack, and a swollen belly screaming out for food. My head's spinning and my mouth is dry but Butch is right - there are only two more waterkins and it might be hours before we reach another fountain.

I had imagined myself bold and fearless cutting a path through the labyrinth, searching for the Firestaff and preparing the way for Lord Librasulus to come face to face with Chaos. Then he would regain control of the Power Gem and disorder would be banished from the earth forever.

I was arrogant. We all were.

Fourth Day
I'm determined to keep on practising my spells. Until yesterday I had thought that my superior swordsmanship and skill at throwing poison darts and shurikens would hold me in good stead. In two days I'd managed to fell countless screamers and mummies with a single throw: magic was for the likes of Butch and Bing, the wizards of our party. I had seen them attempt posion charms but I had also seen them fall - a single blow with a sword seemed so much more efficient.

My flesh creeps at the thought of my ignorance. If it hasn't been for Butch, I would never have come out of the cavern of the gem alive. Eager to gain a little more food, Urk and I mistook a turning and found ourselves by a pile of rock in a dead end. I had a sling and bent down to pick some of the rocks for ammunition. A split second later the pile reared up in a mass of writhing tentacles, spat fire from its drooling jaw and slashed at my arm with its rattling tail. I began to feel a numbing sensation in all my limbs. Poison.

If it hadn't been for Butch and Bing's fireball spell our whole quest might have ended then. Just as it prepared to strike me again, the creature disintegrated in a puff of foul-smelling smoke. I owe my life to Bing. Without his antidote, I would be dead.

Sixth Day
We are only beginning to fathom the mysteries of these caverns. A network of trap doors, secret panels, hidden passageways and complicated gate-opening mechanisms seems to have defeated all our logic. Until we solve these problems we cannot progress. Meanwhile, we are all light-headed and increasingly irritable. There is no more food and we are having to survive on water and stamina potions alone. I can't help thinking about food - even the vile taste of screamer slice would be welcome now.

Bing is beginning to look very pale - I fear for his life.

Seventh Day
My limbs are weary from walking sideways so much but it's vital that we do not miss the hidden wall panels which, when pressed, might reveal a hidden passageway containing extra treasures or food. A treasure chest was visible through a force field but we still haven't discovered how to get it out.

Eighth Day
Slow progress. We have been searching for the key to a gate out of this section of the labyrinth. It's hidden in a matrix of confusing passageways which seem to transport you, as if by magic, from place to place. If it hadn't been for Urk's idea to keep dropping various objects as an aid to mapping, we might never have succeeded.

Towards what must have been nightfall. Bing's stamina finally gave out. We are sharing his possessions and Urk is looking after his bones - if we ever reach the next resurrection chamber, we'll be able to regenerate him and bring him back to life.

Tenth Day
A short time for rest and repose. We finally reached a regeneration site and there I witnessed one of the few miracles to be found in this god-forsaken place. Urk gently placed the bones in the niche. There was a spark, a blinding flash and there by my side was Bing - dazed, dishevelled and bemused but definitely alive.

We've found a safe place to sleep and restore our energies but I cannot help remembering the rumours about horrible, fire spitting eyeball monsters that lurk deep within the dungeon walls. We've been through so much - let's hope it hasn't been in vain...

The version currently on the market is only for the Amiga 2000 or the expanded Amiga 500, i.e. if you haven't bought a 512K RAM expansion (about £100), you can't play it.

Never fear though, an Amiga 500 (costing £24.99, just like this one) is on its way and should be available some time later this year - at the latest in August.

What's been causing all the delay when they managed to shove all the game into the 512K of the ST last year? Well, apparently it's because the Amiga has less free RAM available than the ST, so it's been a real challenge trying to cram it all in! Mirrorsoft say the programmers are perfectionists - you can be sure they won't rush out the A500 version of this incredible RPG just to make a few fast bucks.

Spells are cast using a combination of up to four magic symbols. They're divided into four categories: Power, Element, Form and Alignment.

To prepare a spell just click on the relevant icons in the right order. You always need a Power Symbol and an Element - more difficult spells, like fireballs or poison charms, require Form and Alignment icons.

So how do you know what symbols to use? Easy. Just pick up and read the scrolls scattered around the dungeon or (if you've got the time), experiment.

Be careful though: spells use up Mana, the magical enemy of each character; the less magical ability you have the more energy it takes to cast a spell. That's why it's important to pick a mixed party of wizards and fighters. A really strong fighter will need lots of Mana just to cast a very basic light spell.

Practice makes perfect. If your spells don't always seem to work, keep trying them out until you get them right. Even if you don't succeed, your magic experience will go up.

OK, so I may not be into all that dungeon questing and role-playing lark but I know a brilliant game when I see one and this is a brilliant game.

What bugs me about most RPGs is all that messing about with menus and options and really pathetic graphics which don't really give you any idea of what's supposed to be going on.

In Dungeon Master on the other hand, you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to be affected by the atmosphere - the way some of the monsters creep up on you and scream is enough to give anyone a heart attack! IF you have got the extra K, get this now.

If you haven't, keep slavering until you can get hold of the A500 version.

This is just about the most incredible game I have ever seen. When you pick it up you find you lose whole days out of your life just getting that little bit further, just trying to find out where that elusive key is, trying to keep someone alive...

There are so many elements to it: you can spend hours practising magic, learning new, more powerful spells that can destroy a quartet of mummies in one blow; if a character dies, you can resurrect him; there are secret passageways revealing items you can't do without; you can eat some of the monsters you kill - and believe me, you'll have to!

The deeper you progress the harder the puzzles get - whole rooms full of a maze of transporters, rooms of trap switches, fire-spitting eyes, sub-levels within dungeons, scrolls that reveal that spell you've been looking for - it's amazing!

The best time to play it is late at night in a room by yourself - it's guaranteed to scare the life out of you. It's like Gauntlet in 3D, but about a hundred times better - if you enjoy arcade adventures, RPGs or combat games, buy it; it's the perfect combination of all three.

This has to be the most amazing game of all time, anywhere, ever - for now anyway. The first person perspective ensures an incredibly realistic atmosphere - you just can't help really getting into the feel of walking through damp, echoing caverns searching for ghosts.

You can touch everything, try to move everything, use any object you come across, drink water, throw things and even eat some of the monsters you've killed.

The puzzles are incredibly devious, the spell system is really flexible and the need to practise magic and spells gives the whole thing that extra-special depth.

I'm just miffed that we've had to borrow the extra memory to review it: I'll have to wait for the 512K version before I can really get into playing again - aargh!

Presentation 96%
Extremely detailed and accessible control method with player inventory, spell menu and weapon icons. Save game procedure is a bit laboured though.

Graphics 95%
The scenery scrolls in 3D blocks - it's interactive, detailed and extremely atmospheric.

Sound 65%
Stereo screams plus the occasional eerie rattling door and heartbeat effects.

Hookability 95%
You can see what you're doing so it's much easier to get into than most RPGs.

Lastability 98%
With twelve increasingly difficult levels, such complicated puzzles, magic and fighting options, you'll be playing for months.

Overall 98%
The best game we've ever seen.