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Many aeons ago, when the giant lizards were still kings of the Earth, the planet T-Pyge had already become highly civilised. One particularly intelligent individual invented a strange construction which immediately took off on planets all over the galaxy. These constructions were the pyramids.

Eventually, Earth caught up on to the trend, and the ancient Egyptians with their strange interstellar communications (prayers) soon purchased pyramids of their own. In the early days of pyramid transportation, two hyperspace juggernauts were needed to transport the pyramids to their new homes: one for the constructions themselves and one for the immense power generators to keep the pyramids active.

The T-Pygeans discovered however that by deactivating the pyramids' power, they could make a huge saving in delivery costs. Therefore, every pyramid delivery man must activate all the levels in the constructions before the customer receives the goods. This is done by way of a remote control ball-shaped robots, which must run over floors and switches to activate them whilst missing walls and obstacles, since they sap the robot's energy.

You play the part of one of these delivery men, who has just arrived on planet Earth and must set about setting up several pyramids, from the easy 14-room Basic model to the mega 54-room Royal model before you run out of time or energy. Fail, and there'll be hell to pay when the boss catches you...

Frankly, I don't really know what to say about this game. Oh yes I do... it's basically bad. There. That'll do for a start.

I didn't ind it at first: you think you'll be able to get the hang of it and start stringing a few solutions together - but the game isn't worth it. Everything about it is disappointing, from the boring loader to the scratty 'Game Over' sequence.

The playability is virtually non-existent due to the dreadful control method which frequently sends you careering into obstacles and walls alike. Give me a puzzle game to play for a couple of hours and I'm pleased as punch, but make sure it's not this puzzle game, or I'll probably punch someone.

Compared to the brilliance of Bombuzal, this is an extremely dull substitute.

Unsually, I really like puzzle games, but I tend to draw the line at ones which are as badly presented and unplayable as this. The spheroid is virtually uncontrollable, making each game an annoying and frustrating experience.

The graphics are hardly state of the art either, and the sound consists of a few rather meagre tunes. It just isn't enough. With a puzzle game, presentation is very important, for controls *and* on-screen appearance: both are sub-standard in Power Pyramids.

If the graphics and general appearance are a bit off-key then I'd rather have a playable game than absolutely nothing, but this gets very close.

If you like puzzle games then avoid Power Pyramids, as the only puzzle involved is why they decided to release it. It's the worst C64 puzzle game I've ever played.

Presentation 20%
Dull opening screen, disastrous control method and not enough options. Very weak.

Graphics 31%
Bland, blocky and poorly animated throughout.

Sound 43%
The occasional ditty fails (miserably) to add any atmosphere at all.

Hookability 12%
The frustrating control method instantly puts you off...

Lastability 12%
...and it doesn't get any better.

Overall 18%
An original idea... probably because nobody has had such a brain relapse before.