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The Golden Apple is the fifth of Artic Computing's adventure games and the first to include colour and sound. The program begins with a colourful picture of the main locations of the adventure: a mansion house, a ship and a mountainous island.

The plot is simple - you are on quest to find The Golden Apple and on the way you must find thirteen treasures and a safe place in which to deposit them. This is not the kind of adventure where you are killed in every second location and meet strange monsters round every corner. Rather, it is a test of skill, insight and ingenuity. You will find yourself seeking water to fill a watering can to water seeds or fishing for salmon (assuming you find the net) and be left puzzling over the unpleasant crocodile.

The program understands over 150 words and, although a fairly standard textual adventure, it contains three new features for Artic. By requesting instructions you are given a page of the key words and advice on which abbreviated entries are acceptable. Requesting help produces the message: "What? And spoil your fun?!" followed by Artic's address and the promise of a crib sheet if you really get stuck. Asking for your score not only produces an update on the treasure position but gives you a rating out of one hundred and tels you the number of turns you've had so far. The latter might seem a nice but irrelevant touch but it isn't as I soon discovered.

The whole point of adventure games is to explore new worlds and use your wits to survive, finding uses for the various objects you see lying around. This is a high quality adventure game which more than fulfils this aim. It is for the experienced adventurer only. If you are an adventure game enthusiast, it is certainly one worth considering adding to your collection. It is for the 48K Spectrum at £6.95 and the ZX81 at £5.95. Like all Artic adventures so far, The Golden Apple is completely machine code and includes a save routine. Two hints: beware of sunset and don't be tempted by the nice soft bed!