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A computer version of a boardgame? Do us a favour! Yup, Hero Quest is a bit of an odd fellow really. It contains a lot of elements seen tn computer RPGs, but the board game influence is lost in the presentation.

The game is about a band of four adventurers, mercenaries at heart and interested only in cash and the honour of battle. No cause too evil or too worthy. They'll do 'owt for spondoolicks, these fellers.

Whichever scenario you choose, you will always be pitting your wits against Morcar, king of the underworld and lordy lordy big boss big guy. He has to wait his turn just like you and ends up being an invisible player, controlled by the computer.

The rules of play are strict. The game is played on several different maps, depending which mission you choose. Only the section of the map you can see is displayed on the game screen. You have a forty five degree angle of vision and so it is usually impossible to see around corners.

The floor is made up of squares. To move your character you throw two "dice" and so the maximum number of moves is 12. You can move to any square adjacent, but not diagonally. Confused? You will be. You have one action per move; you can take this before or after you move your character.

The 'action' options, broadly, are to attack or search rooms for treasure, hidden doors or traps. Obstacles include furniture, treasure chests, rockfalls and - worst of all - voodoo critters. Voodoo critters include Ores, zombies, evil wizards and bigger, nastier things...

Depending on which mission you choose, you may have to defeat an end-of-level baddie of sons. This is usually some horribly dangerous monster with incredible armour and a pokey weapon. Fighting couldn't be simpler. Select the battle option, choose who you want to fight and Fire Sometimes the "dice" go against you and you lose, but potions and weapons all increase your fighting ability.

Up to four players can play at once, making things a little easier... unless your friends decide to be awkward. Teamwork is possible and useful, but greedy adventurers can make things difficult for you.

The missions vary wildly from a simple maze where the only objective is to find your way out, to a mission to save the world. The rules in the boardgame version could be learned quickly and the trial and error element worked to the game's advantage. This has been preserved in the computer version and in many respects, improved.

No dice, no scrappy pieces of paper and no board. All you need is a computer and a couple of friends. The game is fun in one-player mode, especially when you control more than one character. With all four players taking turns, the game takes on a whole new dimension.

The strategy and mechanics of the game are similar in some respects to Laser Squad. This is purely coincidental, however, it's just the way it translated onto the screen. The rules of the game can be picked up after just a few moves and it's possible to start playing without even referring to the manual.

You can save characters each time you play, therefore carrying weapons and money over to the next scenario. This adds tremendously to the game's lastability and saves a lot of frustrating play on early missions. Graphically, the game is a treat. The maps are perfect, the in-game screens are wonderfully defined and the characters well animated. The variety and appearance of the bad guys varies widely, each monster lookng exactly like its board game counterpart. The rooms and passages are a little samey, but carry the required atmosphere of foreboding extremely well.

Hero Quest has bags of atmosphere. It can be genuinely scary as you creep down a passageway awaiting the next creature, or Morcar's next strike.

The music is superb - and if you don't like it, you can always switch it off! Playability is where Hero Quest has its heart, though, and in many ways it's better than the board game. It's more accessible, much faster and at the end of the day. much more fun. One of the best games of the year and *the* board game conversion.

Brilliant! Gremlin has managed to bring the whole role-playing genre to life with a game that looks great and plays even better. Fans of the board game will be at home instantly.

Escape from the maze.

Graphics 85%
Smooth, detailed and atmospheric-wonderful presentation.

Sonics 84%
Superb music throughout, perfect medieval soundtrack.

Grab Factor 90%
So easy to grasp seemingly complex rules and immediate addiction ensues.

Staying Power 94%
More lasting appeal that any other game this year, tons of missions and lots of variety.

Overall 91%
The game to bring role-playing out of the closet! Great presentation, great gameplay. An essential purchase, even if you don't care for boardgames.

Hero Quest started out as a board game released to great critical acclaim in the latter half of 1988. It followed in the footsteps of TSR's now legendary Dungeons and Dragons series. These D&D type games took the world by storm in the early '80s, but attracted some rather bad publicity.

This publicity had more to do with the kind of people who played the games than the games themselves. The public perception of D&D players, was of spotty adolescents with nothing better to do, hunched over a board in a litter-filled room, with their equally spotty friends, all talking about Ores, Valkyries and Portable Holes. As a game concept, the D&D environment requires a bit more imagination and thought than say, Pac Man or Donkey Kong. Parents, however, still felt that their children would be better off outside in the sun, playing with normal kids and not that weirdo with the anorak from number 26.

When Hero Quest came along, it was a breath of fresh air. It streamlined the ideas used in previous adventure RPGs and made the whole thing cleaner and simpler. The scenarios available still meant that the scope for ideas and customisation was enormous. In a way, Hero Quest re-invented the RPG boardgame...