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While in a particularly alcohol-induced state, Malagar witnessed a vision from Ono, the Un-named One, telling him to go and pinch the fabled Kristal of Konos, from the Halls of Love. This he did, with the aid of the Sisters of the Black Void, causing the Halls to collapse around him with nothing left standing save a single pillar on which the word Love is inscribed.

Thing is, you see, evil does not always win. The Halls' oldest resident, the Essence, none too overjoyed at his sudden homelessness, destroyed Malagar's ship and all the crew and took back the Kristal. Hiding the jewel in a secret chamber on the very edge of time, he decreed that only one pure of heart and full of love (that's you) should find the Kristal and harness its power.

You take the role of one Dancis Frake and a half-minute or so sampled intro from none other than Patrick "Sky At Night" Moore signals the beginning of your quest. You are cast into a dangerous world - across ten different planetary systems - and must learn to interact with other characters, collecting and using various objects, trying not to get killed, and having a rather nice time of it.

The landscape incorporates both horizontally scrolling and static rooms and you've got to go your bestest to find that jewel and use it in an awfully nice way.

Aww, what a nice idea for a game! Find a crystal that will make you love everybody - isn't that sweet?! You can tell that it's going to be something special the moment Patrick Moore starts gabbing on, with about thirty seconds of wonderfully clear, sampled speech. But then you get into the game itself.

I think it's really clever the way the main character walks 'into' the screen to get to locations behind him. The worlds are packed with other characters, both good and evil, who are all willing to chat. Some are definitely more friendly than others and will help you in your quest, while some will just kick your head in, in a Pirates-esque fight sequence.

The Kristal is an involving space opera that won't appeal to everyone - at 30 sovs it's quite expensive, but I think it's brill, so it gets my vote anyway!

Four disks! OK, so one of them is practically full of sampled Patrick Moore, but still, two and a half megabytes of game is a lot by anyone's standards.

And, from the look of things, that storage space has been used to its full potential, what with ten different planets, loadsa locations on them, character interaction, swordfights, space battles, brilliant graphics, excellent sound, totally absorbing gameplay and... well, that's it.

Well, what more do you want?

It's finally here and it's definitely worth waiting for. £29.99 is a lot of dosh to fork out but you do get a lot for your money. So stop whinging, and get to your computer shop now!

Presentation 90%
Pretty title screen with scrolling credit list, and thirty or so seconds of sampled speech to introduce the game.

Graphics 91%
Well above average sprites which are beautifully animated, plus detailed and very colourful backdrops for the various locations.

Sound 85%
Kristal clear(!) speech sample as well as a haunting title track and realistic effects to set a suitably atmospheric tone.

Hookability 88%
The ease of play and interactive element make the initial outset simple to learn and lots of fun.

Lastability 89%
A solar system is a big place, and you'll spend ages trying to uncover its secrets.

Overall 91%
A totally absorbing mish-mash of styles, which may amount to Addictive's greatest game yet.