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The year is 1421. Standing atop the vast hill at the forefront of your army, you gaze into the valley below where you spy the castle of Lord Ravenhill, teeming with his subjects readying themselves for the forthcoming battle.

Should you emerge victorious, you could take control of Stratford and its neighbouring provinces. Your mind drifts to your other enemies and you know that Farnborough must now have fallen, you curse yourself for not leaving a strong defensive force behind.

The heavy rumble of your catapults jolts your thoughts back to the present and you prepare to give the order to attack...

Way back in 1985 Cinemaware released Defender Of The Crown, a strategic game based on the mediaeval conquest of Britain. It boasted (for its time) incredible graphics and sound coupled with action sequences to liven the atmosphere. Sadly it lacked gameplay - there wasn't enough variety or strategy and the map was too small.

Now comes Kingdoms Of England - a similar concept with a more extensive map, more strategy than World War III and a multiple player option. But has it improved on Defender or has it become too complex for its own good?

Kingdoms Of England grabs your attention from the outset, with a suitable mood generated by an impressive musical score and functional graphics.

More importantly though, the gameplay hasn't suffered as a result. A quality strategy bent is apparent throughout, more so when up to four human and four computer players are involved, taking turns. A good example of the level of detail and flexibility present is the ability to split your forces into any number of different-sized units at any time, anywhere. Anyone who played Defender Of The Crown and was left wanting more will be more than satisfied with Kingdoms Of England. And so will anyone else after a lasting challenge for that matter.

Gainstar reckons that there's every chance of an Atari version appearing. However, work has yet to begin, and so a price and release date has yet to be determined.

Kingdoms of an MS-Dos compatible nature are currently under development. A price of £24.95 has been fixed, and a release date should follow within the next month or so.