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This isn't an adventure for the fainthearted. It's big and dangerous to start if you've got boring things to do - like going to school, sleeping and eating. Stuff like that. 'Cos once you venture into the world of Fairlight, you're going to find yourself hanging around with Isvar for some time to come.

I get the impression that this is what programmer Bo Jangborg wanted the first Fairlight to be like.

Bo has come up with an enhanced version of his 3D Worldmaker system to make Fairlight II substantially larger and much more complex than his original hit game.

Fairlight II takes up Isvar's story where the first adventure left off. He's discovered that the gave the Book of Light to the wrong person! It wasn't Segar the Immortal in the tower but the Dark Lord himself. And instead of freeing the land of Fairlight from the grasp of the evil one he has virtually guaranteed its doom and destruction. Stupid boy!

But, unlike real life, Isvar gets a second chance to defeat the Dark Lord by finding the book and the big baddie - again. And that's where you come on.

You begin the game in a forest with twisted trees and nasty wolves roaming about. There are many problems to be solved. Bricked up doorways to mysterious ruins, passages that lead nowhere - apparently and the enigmatic female who Isvar encounters and who may or may not be an important character in the adventure.

Isvar's world has edges - or more exactly cliffs which he can plunge over if he's not careful. Afterwards he'll find himself back at the starting point where something strange always falls from the sky only to be hidden by a tree.

What is this globe thingy. And is it important?

The graphics are similar to the original - intricate black outlines on a base colour. The blackout between screens which put a few people off the first game has been reduced to a minimum.

The 48K version comes in two parts while the special 128K edition - one of the few proper 128 games around currently - loads in one go and has a neat musical intro.

You can take bits from part one into part two with you - but there's always the chance that you haven't got everything you need to complete the game. This makes the 128 version slightly easier to deal with.

Fairlight II isn't a game for the novice arcade adventurer. It's just too big and rambling for that. But if you were one of the few to solve Fairlight the first then you'll be dying to take up the challenge of this sequel.

Am I alone in thinking that the hero looks a bit like Bo Jangborg himself? And why not in it?!

Fairlight II is a game for map makers and game purists alike. If you've got a few months to spare, pick up a copy today...