Gasp! It's Knightlore on the C64 for only £2.50, was my first thought when Firebird's latest game, Cylu, flashed onto my screen.
The game features a split-screen - the right-hand side showing an information panel and the left showing the play area which looks for all the world like the Ultimate Spectrum award winner.
Firebird are playing down the similarity to Knightlore - pointing out all the differences. This seems sensible because, visual similarities aside, it's nowhere near as good as the Ultimate game and, in fairness to Firebird, they are more or less admitting this by placing it in the budget range. That said - it's still a good game in its own right.
The object is to collect 24 objects scattered throughtout a maze made up of over a hundred screens. You play the part of an insect-like droid that walks with an excellent clockwork-like motion. The 3D graphics mean that you have to make the droid walk at fairly acute angles to go forward, backwards, left and right. Takes a bit of mastering, this.
When you have deposited the objects in the Master Computer you can set about disabling the 32 force fields that stop you travelling freely around the maze. Other useul objects in the maze are teleporters requiring the correct keys and fuel cannisters.
Cylu is a master strategist's game. Don't expect to solve it at the first, or even second sitting. It's a really meaty arcade adventure with excellent graphics. The best budget game I have seen since Mastertronic's excellent Clumsy Colin.