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Dave the Dungroid is trapped in the dungeons of the planet Hunkidory. All you have to do is help him battle his way through 20 different levels to get back to the planet's surface.

This is an early program by the prolific ladders and levels game writer Peter Scott. Unlike Last Of The Free, each level consists of a single screen - you do not wander backwards and forwards from screen to screen collecting objects.

Before you can proceed to the next level you have to collect all ten valves that are scattered about the screen. As is usual with this type of game, your success depends on your spotting the correct route through the screen, as well as split-second timing.

Each screen is constructed from a mixture of walkways, moving platforms and sharp spikes. Whizzing between these structural hazards are numerous alien life forms. Needless to say, contact with such creatures is always fatal.

The graphics are fated, the sprites very simple, and the backgrounds crude and boring. The screens may be a challenge to complete, but they don't have the necessary gloss to make you want to keep trying till you succeed.

One of the most infuriating features of the game is the way that everything is reset when you lose a life. No matter how close you are to completing the screen, back you go to the starting point and all the valves are replaced.

Controls are simple - left, right and jump. Stepping from the edge of the platform causes you to drop vertically, although the left and right keys can provide a controlled sideways drift.

The instructions contain a mysterious message about pressing CTRL and C to produce strange effects. On one occasion I tried this combination and exterminated the next alien I encountered. When attempting to reproduce this effect I hung the machine. C'est la vie.

The top two lines of the screen are reserved for a status display. They show the level number, lives left, time remaining before your present droid expires and your score. The program has option that let you play with or without music, or run a demo routine which gives you a second glimpse at every screen you will encounter.

Hunkidory is a very average ladders game - you have been warned.

Steve Brook