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It is a rare thing nowadays to find a game as big as Gauntlet without its own offspring imitators, so far it's had three. Dandy is the third of these imitators - and it's the closest to the original.

The others were both on the streets before Gauntlet, neither were too close to it, and Firebird's Druid even added some good ideas of its own.

Dandy, however, is extremely similar to Gauntlet. The object is to loot fifteen dark and eerie dungeons of any treasure to be found there. Naturally there are other beings who have different plans for the treasure. These creatures often come in the shape of spiders but the more deadly and mobile nasties are generally unrecognisable.

You start your game in dungeon number one. You have 1,000 energy points (that's the maximum) to your name, no treasure, no keys and no spells. Most people who've ever played any form of arcade adventure or even just have the slightest bit of common sense will have some idea of what the keys are for. For those of you who don't [Me - Ed] they are to open otherwise locked doors.

Keys are pretty essential in Dandy - but the trouble with them is that you usually have to use one or even two to get another one. The programmers have kindly left a couple of them easily accessible to get you started [How nice! - Ed].

Electric Dreams have also decided that spells are the flavour of the month but unlike the variety on offer in Druid, they've only given you one. This miserly spell has the effective but rather dull power of killing everything on screen. Perhaps effective isn't the right choice of word as this spell has a tendency not to work. You often have to waste two or three of them before the desired effect is achieved. Don't fret, though; for thiis is not a bug - it's just sheer cruelty on the part of Electric Dreams.

Spells are found scattered around the dungeons and are picked up by walking over them. It is always useful, and suicidal not to have a few of these stashed up your sleeve.

The 1,000 points of energy you're given at the beginning may sound like a colossal amount, but don't overestimate it. It drops in units of 20 and doesn't last very long - just like British Gas shares.

It's not all bad, though, as there are ways to recharge it. The best way is by eating food. Alternatively, if you're desperate, you can sacrifice your booty by exchanging your treasure for energy. It doesn't take an awful lot to lose energy, it just falls away as the seconds tick past. It also drops and a damn sight quicker when you collide with one of the nasties that haunt these wretched dungeons.

Talking of whcih, the nasties come in two main types. There's the "horrible little won't go away" type of nasty. You'll find a couple of these on each screen and they take a lot of energy to kill. The other main species are the "there's millions of us on each screen and we're not budging" spidery-looking things. These little the floor of every room as if their sole ambition in life was to be a doormat. You can kill these by simply walking into them, though this is most inadvisable as it causes great energy loss.

The best thing to do is to blast them precisely and with great caution. This is not the wisest thing to do if you have nasties on your tail in which case you'd better use a spell.

A major problem for Electric Dreams is the sheer unattractiveness of Dandy, it has those awful Spectrum-looking graphics that all Commodore owners despise. It can be downright painful on the eyes, not to mention that the screens flip, instead of scroll. Sound is also a letdown, definitely a missed opportunity since this is the only department in which Gauntlet falls down.

Dandy is - well, I don't want to be too harsh - a very third rate Gauntlet rip-off. As you read last month, the official Gauntlet is not only out, it matches up to our high expectations. The fact that Dandy has a two-player game option and bonus treasure levels doesn't make a jot of difference, who needs it if you've got Gauntlet? I'm sorry you've got Gauntlet? I'm sorry Electric Dreams, Dandy isn't that bad but I just don't see it selling.