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There are very few times when you come across a game which fails to fit at least partially into the well-established categories of computer games. But such a game is Troll, the second release from Palace off-shoot, Outlaw, the people who produced the highly-acclaimed Shoot-'Em-Up Construction Kit.

It has elements of arcade adventure, strategy, a maze game and collecting items. And yet none of these is the dominant feature. They all mesh together to produce something unique.

The Troll of the game title is Humgruffin who has stumbled into the netherworld of Narc, a land of crystal caverns and populated by malevolent goblins. He can only return to his own world by finding the crystal key in each level and returning it to its place in the magic amulet.

The screen has two playing areas, top and bottom. They are almost but not quite mirror images of each other. Gruff can move between them by finding what appear to be pointed pyramids which catapult him back and forth. He needs to do this because the hidden crystals can be hidden anywhere.

Now this becomes more complicated to explain. As Gruff moves around the playing areas he encounters the goblins. These do not kill him but they do build walls which can restrict his movements. Indeed, it is very easy to become trapped.

And now we come to the subject of holes. Gruff can move from level to level by producing a hole from his pocket, throwing it on the ground and jumping through it.

But not all holes are friendly holes. Some will cause death. The type of hole which is available is dictated by the fruit machine style wheel at the left-hand side of the screen.

Occasionally toadstools sprout from the playing surface. If Gruff can jump up and down on this, it will summon Fjalar the dwarf. He climbs down a rope onto the wheel and moves it round a little. That means the type of hole is constantly changing. Confused? Of course you are. And just to add to that confusion it's time to mention the roving death hole. This moves around the screen providing a mobile trap for Gruff. Sometimes it's hard to see because it may be hidden behind the wall built by the goblins. Indeed, that is often the case for the many objects to be found.

Troll is certainly a brave try at a different sort of game. I'm not sure if it's not a little too clever and playability may have been sacrificed. This is definitely a game you should try and play before buying.