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Bob Chappell ventures into a haunted castle in search of restless spirits and becomes an Arabian version of Robin Hood, sharing his loot with the poor

It was the crack of dawn and the urgent knocking woke me from a troubled sleep. Opening the door, I was startled by the sinister black-garbed figure who stood before me. He stared piercingly into my face before thrusting a package into my arms. Without a word, he strode swiftly down the path, where a small scarlet vehicle awaited. I called out but he had already disappeared into the morning mist. I tore open the parcel and my suspicions were confirmed. The postman had delivered some new adventures.

Up on the test bench went Sadim Castle, a real-time text adventure for the BBC B and Electron from MP Software. As the legend has it, Lord Sadim and his wife Leonora were idyllically happy until she was unfaithful to him. Discovering his wife's infidelity, he sealed her up in a room in the castle.

Screaming and cursing, she lived but for a few days. Shortly after Lord Salim was decapitated by a falling portcullis (nasty) and it is rumoured that a woman in white looked on, laughing (gulp).

Forget about a treasure hunt, that's child's play. In this adventure you have been given the unenviable task of going to the now deserted Sadim Castle, to seek out Leonora's remains to give them a decent burial so that her spirit can rest in peace.

The screen is split into two text areas: the top part is used for descriptions, while the bottom is reserved for your commands. The text is attractively presented (using different colouring depending on the nature of the text) and response time is instantaneous. The adventure is played in real-time, with an update taking place around every 30 seconds. Other characters continue to do their own thing, even though you may be sitting back staring at the ceiling for inspiration.

To halt the real-time element (essential if you want to pop out to make a reviving cup of tea), you can freeze the game by pressing, appropriately enough, the escape key. The game will remain in this state of suspended animation until you press the space bar.

While I was playing, a sinister cloaked figure (no, it wasn't the postman again) kept flitting in and out of the shadows. A cowled monk also kept coming up to me, shaking his head and then blessing me before moving on.

Exploring a bit, I soon found a farm that grew garlic. All self-respecting adventurers should know what that's likely to come in handy for. Nearby, the farmer's wife was using a pitcher to catch the drips from the leaking farmhouse roof but when I tried to separate her from her jug, the farmer chased me off the land with his shotgun. Perhaps I should have helped her fix the roof first but I didn't fancy climbing that rickety ladder.

A meadow might have been worth investigating but the sign saying "Beware of the Bull" was a mite discouraging. The chapel looked more promising. On the altar there was a gold crucifix, a Bible and an old prayer book. However, while trying to take the prayer book, I was struck by a thunderbolt.

Never one to forget a lesson (and thanks to the SAVE game feature), I tried a different tack and was rewarded by seeing "Help Thyself" in fiery red letters appear over the altar! Being upright, kind and helpful pays dividends in this game.

The game allows you to enter quite complex commands, including talking to other characters. Sadim Castle is a first rate adventure, having plenty of puzzles, interest and atmosphere. I thoroughly recommend it to both BBC B and Electron adventures. It costs £7.50 on cassette, £10.50 on disk, and is published by MP Software (051-334 3472).

The second adventure, Zim Sala Bim, was for the Commodore 64 and rather unusual it was, too, with its scrolling graphics, animation, music and text.

It takes place in Arabia, where Zim Sala Bim (you) has been set the task of penetrating the Sultan's castle and making off with the gold. A sort of Arabian Robin Hood, Zim has to take the loot to a secret cave to share it out among the poor.

Each location is depicted graphically in the top half of the screen. But here's the difference - Zim is on screen all the letters, at the foot of the screen, the lowest part being reserved for your input. You can control the speed of Zim's movements by tapping a numeric key when he's stationary. A word of warning - the game starts in the slowest speed and it has a dreadful effect on your input. The keyboard scanning routine is almost brought to a standstill; not only do you have to key in at a snail's pace, but some of the key depressions don't register. The game is virtually unplayable at this pseed. Switching it into the fastest mode (9) has an immediate beneficial effect.

The textual descriptions are terse and the game's syntax and vocabulary seem very restricted. For example, having found and picked up a pistol, neither shooting, firing or even examining it was understood by the program.

The game format and play is original, granted, but as an adventure it is very shallow. Text has been sacrificed on the altar of graphics. Give me a meaty, atmospheric text adventure any day.

Zim Sala Bim is priced at £9.95 and is published by Melbourne House. (0235-53001).