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In times long past there was a paradise on Earth, a utopia populated by the gods and ruled over by Osiris. But not everyone was happy. Indeed, Osiris's brother, Set, was consumed with jealousy. One dark day Set persuaded Osiris to lie in a chest, then nailed it shut before throwing it into the river Nile.

Eventually the chest was discovered by Isis, Osiris's wife, who in comforting her dying husband became pregnant! While Osiris ascended to heaven, Isis gave birth to Horus, a hawk-headed god who can transform into a hawk for battle.

Horus's latest adventure takes place in pyramid. Set has torn the body of the Unknown King entombed there into seven pieces. Horus must find the pieces and take them to their proper resting place - this will give him the power to take on Set.

To do his fighting for him Set has brought to life many of the hieroglyphics in the pyramid to attack Horus if he gets too near them. Horus can walk about in human form, and can only use the lifts this way, but for battle the hawk form is best.

Some of the lifts are locked, requiring one of eight different coloured keys to open them. There are also nineteen amulets to find. These range from the Amulet of the Soul (a hawk which follows Horus, spitting bullets), to the Amulet of the Collar of God which temporarily frees a man's soul from his body (invincibility in normal shoot-'em-up terms!), and even an auto-map. Some of the amulets must be used at the right place and time to complete the game successfully.

While exploring the pyramid Horus must be careful not to bump into Set. The evil god can take the form of a deadly dragon, and the whole screen shakes when Horus gets near him.

There's very much an Entombed flavour about this Egyptian arcade adventure romp, although I personally enjoyed the Ultimate game a lot more.

For the most part, it's fairly standard gameplay spiced up with some extra weapons and features. But it doesn't look all that original - something that prevented me from getting into the game as much as Stu.

Nevertheless, both versions look very good indeed with backdrops of a very egyptian style, plus some nice tunes here and there. The C64 game mirrors its 16-bit counterpart extremely well, so it's a pity its difficulty level is so hard.

Denton Designs are among the most imaginative programming teams, but after the innovative Eco they have reverted to the sort of arcade adventure popular years ago. Initially Horus seems way too hard and, because you keep dying, repetitive. But once you take the time to work out the attack waves, controls and amulets, it gets easier.

The game structure is very clever - the toads which restore energy and lives mean that after you've just got as far as you think possible, you can explore a whole new area.

Graphics are top-notch for both machines. The C64 game is especially impressive as there's no multi-load, but it's also harder, making it less playable than the Amiga version.

Presentation 74%
No multi-load.

Graphics 83%
Attractive backdrops and attack waves.

Sound 67%
Informative spot FX and short death tune.

Hookability 69%
Very tough to begin with.

Lastability 77%
It's a big challenge but difficulty might discourage some.

Overall 75%
A well presented adventure/shoot-'em-up hybrid.

Presentation 71%
Free poster, interesting but confusing scenario.

Graphics 80%
Technically mediocre, but the atmosphere is great and the 50 attack waves are superbly detailed.

Sound 70%
Inoffensive Egyptian tune with average FX.

Hookability 72%
Very confusing to start with, but clever game design keeps you playing.

Lastability 82%
Exploring the large pyramid is a big challenge.

Overall 80%
An intriguing arcade-adventure.