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Walking along in the underground caverns I wondered what adventure I might confront this time. As I reached the deep black pool, my mind was thinking of other things... Suddenly, a hand slid out of the water and grabbed me. As I slowly sunk to the bottom of the lake, I realised I was entering a new world, and that I had been attacked by no less than Thelric, the Master of Magic.

Once in this new world, Thelric explains that the only way for you to get home alive is to retrieve the lost Amulet of immortality for him. To give you a chance, Thelric has given you the ability to cast spells but apart from that you are on your own, in a very strange world indeed.

When the game has finished loading, you are presented with three distinctly different areas. The lower half of the screen shows what creatures or objects are within your range (irrespective of whether they are alive or dead), and it is also used as the area in which you choose your spells and actions.

The top left of the screen is an independently scrolling area which shows a section of your progress through the maze. Most importantly however is the top right 'Scroll', which shows you what action you have decided to take, and what - if any - creatures are attacking you.

If you are unfortunate enough to be attacked, you can use one of your spells to kill your opponent, or if you have picked up a weapon, you can use that. Of your spells, the Magic Missile tends to be pretty useful against everything except the most hardy opponent.

Your status is displayed on two meters, one for your life force, and one for your magic ability - both of which diminish disturbingly quickly!

What makes the game even more annoying is that some of the monsters, especially the Vampires, have limited intelligence. In practice, this means that they chase after you for hours!

The Master Of Magic is a true arcade adventure, and although its graphics and sound are not outstanding, the game is extremely playable, and at £2.99, you must be "MAD" not to buy it!! (Sorry, but I had to get that in!)