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A couple of issues back we were raving on about a cheapy for the Amstrad called Storm. Now it's out on the Spectrum and is just as good. If you want to brush up your Gauntlet skills before the real thing turns up in time for Christmas then this is the game for you.

It's a one or two player arcade adventure in which Storm the Warrior and Agravain Undead the magician go on a rescue mission. The evil Una Cum has captured Storm's missus - and as there's no one at home to wash his barbarian furs out hero wants her back.

You enter the weird and dangerous world of Una's castle - populated by millions of his minions who'd love to carry your head to their master.

Fortunately, as you explore the dank, dark and dusty rooms you'll discover magic scrolls, food, armour and keys which will aid your quest. What you're looking for are the three snake broaches or torcs which will enable you to open the door to Una's laboratory where Storm's wife Corrine is imprisoned.

Like Gauntlet, you get an overhead view of each room you enter, while a message about your current location - or about your status - scrolls along in a window at the top of the screen.

Each room is filled with baddies who attack and drain your energy unless you zap them. They'll keep on coming unless you wipe out the monster generators easily spotted in each room. Easily spotted unless they are hidden under "floorboards", that is. Trial and error - and blasting - will help you find the obscured bits and pieces. Some useful things could be hidden as well.

Find a magic scroll and activate it in a roomful of baddies and you'll temporarily clear an entire room.

For some reason the instructions say this is a keyboard only game. Well, my Kempston worked OK on both the one and two player games. Although player two obviously has to use the keys - and you have to wait for your mate to catch up before moving onto the next room.

The program is extremely well presented - with a useful set of on-screen instructions which set the scene for the game, and tell you what's what in the game. This was missing from the Amstrad version.

The graphics are chunky but acceptable. The whole game has a nice feel to it. It's also horribly addictive and very playable.

If you can't wait for Gauntlet to appear - and who can? - it's well worth shelling out a couple of quid to get in a bit of monster molesting with Storm and Agravain. Another budget winner from Mastertronic.