Castle creepies don't disappoint

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While the packaging pictures don't do justice to their counter parts on the screen, at least they're more accurate than the storyline. The box asserts that the evil wizard Zaldremon is responsible for the terrible state of affairs which has befallen the land, but the storyline on the screen has the culprit as a Baron. Perhaps he's both.

The program requires 400k so, before you double-click the head of the good wizard, be sure that you've got enough; alternatively pressing Shift-Break will do the trick.

The mystical looking menu screen has a scrolling message passing along the lower portion. Try not to fall asleep before it ends as there is some important information there - you could end up thoroughly frustrated, stuck in a small area of the adventure.

The tutorial gives game play details and the keys to use. What a pity that the mouse could not be used to control the wizard's movements instead of the old A, Z,', / and Spacebar - although you can redefine them.

The evil Baron has smashed the Talisman into six pieces and scattered them. Your task, as the remaining good wizard, is to recover them from around thekingdom, re-assembling them while fighting the forces of evil.

The screen backgrounds are beautiful, with castle walls of real stone, authentic looking trees, flaming torches and fires - but why can't they scroll smoothly instead of flicking between screens?

The wizard's movements are unpredictable at times, although he makes a realistic ticking noise with his feet as he walks.

Talking of sound, the BBC A3000 has a wonderful system, but the wizard hardly knows it is there, producing only simple tones as he jumps or is attacked, and there's no background music to set the scene.

The ghouls, ghosts and monsters I came across were far better than just 8-bit derivatives and unlike the wizard, do justice to the machine - except for the bubbles which were little more than empty circles. There are bats, wasps, red beetles and all manner of unusual creatures out to sap your lifeblood.

Initially, I didn't achieve more than two per cent of the game, being sapped of my energy by the monsters time and time again, before I could explore much of the castle or surrounding forests.

The secret is to read the scrolling screen message - you have been warned.

Initially, I found Talisman disappointing, but once the play opens up it's a fascinating and well-produced arcade adventure, with excellent scenery and pretty good sprites. As the next step up from Citadel it can't be beaten - at least, not yet.

Baz Racon