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Yeah! Rygar, at last! Get the tape loaded up now! Nice loading screen - but what about the game! Hmmm. Graphics ain't that impressive. Rygar looks a bit wimpish and moves a bit oddly for my liking. And was that the first level? I've completed it without a losing a life! Shock horror! On to level two - which is a bit more difficult. I'm starting to enjoy this a bit more now despite the dodgy graphics.

And some of the effects - like the three creatures doing acrobatics, leaping on each others shoulders - are a bit neat.

If you've not seen the coin-op you won't know that Rygar is a barbarian character trapped in a world full of larger than life monsters, objects and weapons to be collected and, more importantly, a lot of fun to be had!

The coin-op is a multi-level, horizontally scrolling game with stunning graphics, huge characters and great gameplay.

The Spectrum version - we haven't seen any others yet - crept into our office just before we went to press with this issue, and initially it looks very disappointing. But ignore the graphics - maybe we're being spoilt by all those ST games - and play the game. soon you'll be hooked.

Although the first couple of levels are reasonably easy to complete you soon work out that almost all the elements of the coin-op are present - so if you have played the arcade version, you'll be able to use all those hard-learnt tricks in the computer version.

As you hack 'n slash your way through the assorted monsters you'll find some things are transformed into objects or weapons which will be useful to you in the future. Objects like:

1. The Star - gives you extra firing range 2. The Crown - gives you extra firepower. You can kill more than one monster at a time. 3. The Tiger Head - allows you to kill monsters by jumping on their heads. Without this you can only stun them using this technique. 4. The Shield - makes you invulnerable for a short time. 5. The Sun - allows you to jump higher and have a crack at flying monsters.

Each level has to be completed within a set time limit - ticking away at the top of the screen. So don't hang around killing monsters for too long. You can go back on yourself to pick up objects - but beware wasting too much time.

If you reveal a question mark, don't pick it up - shoot it first to uncover what the real object it's hiding.

Ignore the graphics and enjoy the game is my message. We've yet to see the other versions - but we know you've been waiting for this game with itchy joystick fingers, so watch out for more Rygar reviews in upcoming issues. Overall, Spectrum Rygar is slightly disappointing - compared with Elite's Thundercats, which is, we have to say it, a similar type of game.

Spectrum owners should take a look at the game before they buy - this version could be for hardened Rygar fans only.