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No-one's ever satisfied, are they? There you are, half of the known civilisation under your people's control, and what do they want? More, that's what. Greedy lot.

"Go and hassle the trolls a bit", you're told. It's all right then saying that - they're not the ones who are going to get badly beaten about the head and neck, lost, cold, wet and generally not very happy, thousands of feet under the ground, tramping through unknown, unmapped troll-infested caverns.

But they're the bosses. And anyway, you'll have a little bit of help. Yep. Your scientist friends have very kindly kitted out with a clever little matter atomiser jobby, to destroy the very fabric of the earth (only little bits, mind). And you do have your handy magic bolts for protection.

So, get yourself into that telepod, set the right co-ordinates (no beaming yourself to some nice, sunny beach), and do the business of sorting those little brown devils out.

(Note: There's a construction set included in the game as well, if things start getting a bit tricky, and you just want an easy life! Damn, that bit doesn't go with this story very well.)

Whatever else it might do for you (and we'd better not go too much further into *that*) nobody can say that Realm Of The Trolls pushes either Commodore to its limits.

Forget involved gameplay, exciting graphics and brilliant soundtracks 'cos if you start thinking too much about that sort of thing, you'll make yourself ill.

So if it hasn't got all of those things, what exactly has it got? Bit of climbing, bit of collecting, bit of shooting and that's it.

Not much to show for your 10 or 25 quid. In fact, I just can't stop myself thinking of all the other things you could buy with that sort of cash...

Realm Of The Trolls is a real "love it or hate it" game. Basically, if you can't stand levels and ladders, you won't like this. The biggest pull Realm Of The Trolls had for me was the brillo music at the beginning.

Unfortunately, the C64 version has nothing in the way of music - bit disheartening, I thought. Still, there are some well-drawn sprites kicking around the dungeons and though the backdrops are all black, they create a sort of dark, suspense-filled atmosphere. The construction set helps prolong the game's life, too.

If you're dead against platform games, you'd be well advised to steer clear of Realm Of The Trolls, or at least get a good look at it beforehand.

Otherwise, buy it, but don't expect too much.

I didn't think I'd go a bundle for Realm Of The Trolls before I saw it but though I'm not exactly mad keen on platform games, I found it quite a good laugh, for a while.

One thing I was rather pleased with was the general presentation of the game itself. While background graphics are a tad on the dreary side, there's some interesting animation on the main character and the troll baddies, as well as a lot of nicely drawn objects to collect on the way and add to your score.

There's a meaty, beaty tune on the Amiga loading screen, which compensates for the dreary game effects - mostly strange whoops and whizzes (sampled on the big machine, not so sampled on its little brother). As with the vast majority of platform games, you are bound to get a bit sick of playing after some time but there is the built-in construction kit which lets you rip the game to pieces, and put it back together, should you get a bit bored.

Presentation 90%
Loads of options (including contest for up to eight players and save game) plus construction set on both formats.

Graphics 60%
Imaginative, well-coloured sprites make up for drab, lifeless backdrops.

Sound 47%
Not such an impressive loading screen on the C64, and in-game effects are disappointing.

Hookability 51%
Take away what frills there are, and it's just another platform game.

Lastability 59%
There's magic, hitting people, and a construction kit to keep interest from waning.

Overall 60%
A fun but fairly average platform game which won't be everyone's cup of tea.

Presentation 91%
Joystick or mouse controlled on Amiga. Loads of options (including contest for up to eight players and save game) plus construction set on both formats.

Graphics 61%
Imaginative, well-coloured sprites make up for drab, lifeless backdrops.

Sound 52%
Impressive loading screen music on Amiga but in-game effects are disappointing.

Hookability 56%
Take away what frills there are, and it's just another platform game.

Lastability 62%
There's magic, hitting people, and a construction kit to keep interest from waning.

Overall 58%
A fun but fairly average platform game which won't be everyone's cup of tea.