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The game is based on Dante Alighieri's medieval poem 'Inferno', which tells the tale of a Pilgrim's journey through hell to take on the devil himself. In the game, you take on the role of the Pilgrim battling his way past all sorts of hellish nasties in search of the unspeakable.

Your journey starts in a woody glade. On the ground near your feet is a bag of money and not far off is a coiled rope. Assuming these to be useful, even essential to your purpose, it is advisable to pick them up.

You can carry two objects at a time, icons at the foot of the screen tell you what you're holding in each hand. To use an item, simply hold the fire-button and push the stick left or right.

Once you have familiarised yourself with the controls, it's time to enter the tunnel that leads to hell itself. Emerging from the tunnel, you find yourself on the far bank of a subterranean river. Hang about here too long and a swarm of hornets (they could have been wasps) terminate your career.

If you should manage to escape this date (I won't spoil it for you, but it's not difficult), you enter the first 'circle' of hell proper. This has the appearance of an ancient Greek ruin, and is guarded by a couple of indescribably nasty nasties. Beyond this are eight other 'circles', all similarly guarded, ending with a lake of ice and a confrontation with the pitchforked nasty himself.

If you should fail, you will be sentenced to an eternity of some fate worse than Wogan (unless you elect to start afresh)!

The music deserves a mention at this point, a superbly scored medieval melody (suitably synthesized) accompanies you on your journey, changing subtly at each new location. Sound effects are a little sparse, the rushing of a hurricane, the buzz of the hornets, etc, but this in no way detracts from the gameplay.

The action occupies about the top three-quarters of the screen. The graphics are smooth and clean but not what I'd call spectacular. Underneath is the usual score, hi-score and object icons, with a calendar (you have just seven days to complete your quest) showing the passing of the days. Underneath this scrolls cryptic and disconcerting messages such as 'Abandon every hope!' (actually a quote from the poem).

Well, Beyond seem to have another winner here, a highly original theme, good graphics with plenty of variety and excellent music. Where have I been for the past week or two? To hell and back!