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Nobody can remember exactly why or when it happened, but the people of the Netherworld were transported from their own dimension into the pages of The Book, homeland of the evil demon Midas and his motley bunch of followers. This enraged Midas no end and a long and bitter battle began between the intruding civilisation and Midas' horrible army.

Events became even more confused when The Book was sent into our dimension for safe keeping (at least until Midas is defeated). The battle continued to rage and The Book was passed down from generation to generation until it came into your hands. Being of an inquisitive nature, you decided to read it, but as your eyes scanned the ancient script, your eyelids became heavy and eventually closed as sleep took control of your body.

This sleep brought dreams, strange dreams where a lady dressed in white came to you and begged you for help in rescuing her people, trapped in the realms of The Book. She informs you that the last six pages of The Book, the final chapter, have been torn out and spread throughout the lands of the evil demon Midas. To make matters worse, they've been mixed with six dark pages created by Midas' forces of evil. If the good pages were collected and reassembled, and the dark ones destroyed, the power of Midas would be diminished and the Nether people could return to their own dimension. Before you can even respond to her pleas, the lady in white transports you to the dimension of The Book to begin your mission of mercy.

Heartland is a flick-screen arcade adventure, where you must travel through the six realms of Midas and collect the six realms of Midas and collect the six scattered pages. The journey through the realm is very hazardous and there are holes which must be avoided - fall into one and that's it. Out of luck. The main character can move either left or right and can jump great heights, as long as he's facing in one of those directions.

Doorways and lifts can be used by going 'in' and 'out' of the screen; these take you through the various rooms of each of the six realms. Travelling from realm to realm is simple, just find a bed and fly 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' style to your destination.

When the quest is undertaken, it's wise to collect a weapon or two to help you combat the many nasties which inhabit the Heartlands. These weapons float about the air and can be picked up by jumping into them, when this is done the collected weapon appears in the status area at the top of the screen. There are three types of weapon: a top hat, a knife and a power ball.

Throughout the quest, the meanies of Midas try their level best to sap your life-giving energy, displayed in the form of Midas' grinning face growing in the status area. Death occurs when his ugly features are complete. The screen is not only filled with marauding baddies, there are also spells (some good and some bad) which float around the atmosphere. Picking up a good one grants the hero invincibility for a short while, and might even build up his strength a bit. However, collecting a bad spell results in the loss of more energy.

As the quest progresses, the passage of time is recorded and displayed by two hourglasses which turn as time ticks by. Every time you travel from one realm to the other the timer resets, but if a second more than eight minutes is spent in the same realm the game ends. If you manage to find a piece of The Book (the pages fly about like the spells), it can be collected by jumping in the air and catching it. Bad pages have similar properties, but you must destroy them by shooting them wth your available weapon. When all six pages are collected, the Nether people are freed and return to their own dimension... oh happy days.

Arcade adventures are very numerous on the Commodore, but really good ones are very few and far between. This is one of those rarities - a graphically neat game which is very playable and has a convincing plot where you feel you're actually trying to achieve something.

The graphics are really well thought out with great use of colour on the backdrops, and well animated and detailed sprites. The game itself is quite a difficult one, but not so hard that it's frustrating to play.

If you want an arcade adventure to keep you puzzled then take a look at this one.

Odin have not yet come up with a product that has not won my approval and Heartland is yet another in a long line of successful releases.

Heartland is immense fun, it didn't matter if I didn't get anywhere - the game is just such good fun to play. All the characters are so neat, superbly detailed they appear like cartoon figures. Packed with atmosphere and humour Odin have got yet another hot product on their hands which shouldn't be missed.

This is without doubt one of the prettiest arcade adventures I've seen on the C64: the backdrops are colourful, varied and superbly drawn, and the sprites are beautifully animated, especially the main character who, for some strange reason, never lets go of his hat (the land is full of hat thieves I guess).

Not only is Heartland extremely attractive, it's very playable with lots of locations to map and plenty of long term challenge. Heartland is, quite simply, Odin's best release to date and will certainly appeal to anyone who enjoys a decent arcade adventure.

Presentation 84%
Pleasant title screen and a few useful options.

Graphics 95%
Very pretty backdrops and sprites, and sympathetic use of colour.

Sound 64%
Twee title screen tune and the spot effects are rather rare, but they're good whenever used.

Hookability 86%
Initially strange, but compulsive nevertheless.

Lastability 80%
Plenty to muse over and there's a time limit to beat.

Value For Money 82%
A trifle over the odds, but there's plenty to keep you going.

Overall 85%
Another high quality arcade adventure from Odin.