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Just when you thought it was safe to go back down the mine, Superior Software have released Repton 3. The game features all the characters and graphics of Repton 2, but is closer to the original Repton in gameplay and objectives. It comes with 24 challenging levels to complete, stored on tape as three separate files.

On successful completion of each level you are given the password for the next, which means that when you play the game on subsequent occasions you don't have to wade your way through it all again.

When playing the game only a small section of the overall map is visible at any one time. Each level is laid out like a maze, constructed from boulders, earth, diamonds, giant eggs and many other devilish things. To complete a level you must kill every monster and collect all the diamonds and a golden crown before a time bomb explodes.

The problems begin as you burrow your way beneath boulders. As soon as the supporting earth has been removed, the boulder falls, killing you or changing the shape of the maze by blocking off a passageway. For this reason your route through the maze must be very carefully planned - one badly placed rock and you might as well start again.

As in Repton, you can call up a detailed map of the whole level to help you choose the correct path through a maze. When I first played the game I thought the monsters were pretty tricky to deal with as they have to be lured beneath a precariously balanced boulder and then squashed.

Worse than the monsters are the spirits, Will-o'-the-wisps which whizz along the pathways at incredible speed. You must lure them into cages, where they turn into diamonds.

As if 24 mind-bogglingly difficult screens weren't enough Superior provides a screen designer too. This is a very classy piece of software which enables you to construct new screens in map form. These can then be saved as data files and loaded by the main game. You could even challenge your friends to solve your latest devious masterpiece.

The game's graphics aren't the greatest I've ever seen but this minor niggle is soon forgotten as you wrap your mind around the puzzles. Repton 3 is a must for every Electron user.

James Riddell