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This is a very original game. You control Gandalf, who has to protect his treasure and guard his apprentices against the lizard-men. In the first screen you aim power bolts at the lizard-men from the ramparts of the castle, turning them into gold coins. To reach the second screen you must allow some of the lizard-men to break into the castle to abduct one of your apprentices, then you can follow them out into the forest, destroy them with the power-bolt traps and retrieve the apprentice and gold coins.

Power has to be recharged from a shining star by climbing one of the castle towers; it is important to do this regularly, or the game will be brought to an early end by a nasty spider who kills the wizard if his power is low.

You can only score points by collecting coins on the second screen, which is trickier than the first. I found it depressing to die after shooting hordes of lizard-men, only to find I had scored nothing. The game has excellent sound and graphics and if you're looking for something different it's worth considering.

M.N.