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Not only does this game have an absolutely unpronouncable name, it's also virtually unplayable - or at least it's not a game that I can imagine anyone wanting to play.

Supposedly set in the 25th century, Sgrizam costs you in the role of the warrior Mirdav who has been entrusted with the task of rescuing the Princess Doaphin. Naturally, being a princess, Doxaphin (Doxie to her friends, no doubt) is dead beautiful and if you can rescue her you get to win a huge dowry and her hand in marriage, so off you go to rescue her from her captors on the planet Kindos.

Tucked away in a cell in the Castle of Kindos, Doxaphin can only be rescued by you battling your way along the corridors, dodging or killing the creatures that will stand in your way. These include zombie ducks, swordsmen, snakes, rats and the like. Most of these can't be killed, but by ducking or jumping at the appropriate moment you can avoid them. Getting hit three times ends the game, and whenever I or anyone else played Sgrizam each game lasted about three seconds.

The trouble is that there's so little game in here - you can walk along the corridor, jump/duck to avoid the animal, or jiggle your sword in the direction of one of the armed enemies that comes along occasionally and that's about it. There doesn't seem to be much skill involved in the swordplay and simply avoiding the stream of creatures that comes wandering along (always from the same direction, so you don't even get to run backwards and forwards to add a little variety to the game) gets monotonous in a very short time.

The graphics are quite good for a budget game, and Mirdav is a large, well animated sprite that wouldn't look out of place in a more sophisticated arcade/adventure. It's just a pity that the gameplay itself is so dreary.