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This game is, as the ads say, more than an adventure. It comes in a colourful but rather flimsy package, and is supplied with a thin plastic overlay and a book which, besides containing the instructions, outlines the events leading up to the beginning of the game. This story, although only a few pages long, makes fascinating reading and sets the scene nicely.

The game begins on the day of the Winter Solstice. Doomdark, Witchking of Midnight (played by the computer) is moving his vast hordes out of their strongholds in the North in a bid to subdue the armies of the Free. You take the part of Luxor the Moonprince, and three of his most loyal allies. You move only by day, and the distance a character may move in one day depends on his strength, the terrain, and whether he is on foot or horseback. When all your moves have been made, pressing NIGHT signals the start of activities for Doomdark's forces.

To win the game, you must achieve at least one of two objectives:

1. Seize the Citadel of Ushgarak, the Witchking's headquarters - this is a war strategy game, or 2. Destroy the Ice-Crown in the Tower of Doom. Only Morkin is protected against its terrible powers, but other characters you may come across will also be able to undertake this hazardous quest.

Doomdark must achieve two objectives to win:

1. He must eliminate Morkin, Luxor's son; 2. He must subdue the armies of the Free, either by killing Luxor, or by taking the Citadel of Xajorkith

Unlike other adventure games, only four commands are used to control your characters. You must move through the land of the Free, looking for Lords who will support you, as you have no armies of your own. A rudimentary map gives you some idea of the locations of the main Citadels where help may be sought. There are, naturally, many lesser Citadels, Keeps and other locations where you may also find help, but these are not on the map.

It is the unique 'Landscaping' feature of this game which sets it apart from any other. Standing at any location, you can look in eight directions and see a different view in each direction. As you get nearer to a building or other object, its size increases until it almost fills the screen. The programmers claim to have provided 32,000 different views, each one different.

To sum up, this really is an epic game not to be missed by any adventurer, wargamer or fantasy fan. At a price of £9.95, it represents excellent value for money.