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Some years ago, the first SSI game based on AD&D's "Forgotten Realms" was released. Despite becoming a bestseller on other formats, Pool Of Radiance never made it onto the ST - but now its successor has, and very welcome it is too.

The plot finds you waking in the city of Tilverton to discover that everyone in your party has an armful of blue tattoos. You rapidly learn that, when the symbols glow, you are forced to follow their commands despite your better judgement - I mean, who in their right minds would attack the royal coach in full view of the city guards? Your task is to find the members of the alliance who created these bonds and free yourself from the curse.

Getting going involves generating a party, loading the preset example or transferring old characters from Hillsfar (a previous SSI game). Races range from dwarfs to humans, and classes include cleric, paladin, magic user and several others. It takes a while to assemble and equip characters, which can be a little tedious, but each character's appearance can be modified, as can his stats (but that's cheating, isn't it?).

Then you are off, exploring Tilverton and the delights it holds. Visiting the armoury is a must, and popping into the local tavern can be rewarding too. Try punching the barkeeper's nose - but make sure you're well equipped first.

While moving around the city you see your surroundings in standard 3D representation and when battle is joined this changes to overhead 3D with movement in eight directions. Battles can be left to your ST to resolve, but you still have to sit through a blow-by-blow account which can take ages to finish even with the speed-up option.

After battle it's time to camp, learn spells, heal your party and perhaps change weapons or marching order. An enormous number of spells is available, depending on your character level, but you need to use them carefully or you're likely to envelop your allies in noxious gas or worse.

The graphics are hackneyed, varying from pretty to merely practical, and the animation is basic at best. Overall, this looks like an 8-bit game - it's just not in the Dungeon Master class. Still, you don't need much in a game of this type, and everything at least helps maintain the atmosphere. The sound is sparse - mainly "ping-pow" type spot effects - but it's effective enough, and there is an attractive loading tune and little sirens that sound when battle is joined.

It's a pity that Pool Of Radiance isn't available on the ST, becaue the fifth level characters you start with in Curse are a little complex for the newcomer to this RPG system. Hillsfar players might do better, but may miss the arcade action of that game - you don't need reflexes here.

Still, Curse Of The Azure Bonds is guaranteed to keep you going for ages. Although the graphics and sound don't use anything near the ST's potential, once you get going you don't even notice them. If you like role-playing and want a game with tremendous long term interest and a really good storyline, you can't go wrong with this one.