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Way back in 1985 I came upon a game which heightened my whole perception of text adventuring. That adventure was released by the small, and now defunct, Magus Software - its title, Village Of The Lost Souls.

It was, indeed, the most sophisticated and atmospheric text adventure which I had ever seen. My only regret was that it was a BBC Micro-only offering, and though an Electron version was promised, it never materialised.

That is, until now. The master of silicon suspense, Robert O'Leary, thankfully bought the rights to Village Of The Lost Souls and it is now available under Robico's own label for the Electron.

This version is complete, not only with scintillating new packaging, but in a much improved and revamped form including Robico's superb advanced parser, and written using Martin Moore's Amulet machine coding. What's more, the text has been lengthened to add even greater atmosphere to the game.

The adventure includes the command OG which means if you are killed, or you did something you later regret, you can return to the position you were in before the mistake was made.

The Help facility within the game is a marvellous aid if you really do become stuck with some of the extremely devious puzzles.

Lost Souls is set in a medieval world in which magic exists, but may only be used by those with a touch of the Talent. All use of magic is controlled by the Church, represented by the Order of Saint Leofric, Patron of Magic and discoverer of the Thirteen Realms of the Arcane.

As Nathan, Inquisitor to the Order of Saint Leofric, you have been summoned to the study of Father-Magister Alain to commence an investigation for the Council of Twelve, who hold the keys to the twelve realms of order.

Father-Magister Alain closes his eyes, his face cloaked by the gentle mist which rises from the slab at his feet. He raises his hands and the blue cloud of the Transmission Spell billows around you.

You are transported to the Village of Dinham where the Rector of the Church has requested the assistance of an Inquisitor, since he believes the Lord-Talent of the Village to be attempting to open a portal into the forbidden thirteenth realm, the Realm of Chaos.

The atmosphere has to be smelt to be believed - just try this offering: "There is an unkempt pack of curs here snapping and fighting among themselves ... woof ... bark ... snarl!"

The puzzles are ingenious, often complex and at times excruciating, but all are logical in retrospect, and enjoyable in every aspect.

This is an essential purchase for any serious adventurer. Indeed, in my humble opinion this is the best cassette-based text adventure available for either the Electron or BBC Micro.

Pendragon