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"Tell me, Sir Archibald, you've treated many strange maladies in your time, but do you have any idea how to cure a case of Mummy Rot?" The answer to this question would be of more than fleeting interest if you had played Halls Of Death.

Six floors of rooms and caverns await your exploration. The sole objective is to collect as much treasure as you can and get out again, richer and wiser than when you first entered. You will need strength and sorcery in your perambulations. The halls contain many monsters, not the nicest of which is a mummy, inflictor of the aforementioned rot.

Finding various artefacts increases your powers, and while there are greater prizes down in the nether regions, it is there that the nastier monsters congregate in the hope of shredding a passing bold adventurer or two.

There are only a few commands to memorise, all being single key depressions. You need to be nimble on the keyboard since the game is played in real time - any attacking monster is not going to drum its finger while you make up your mind whether to slice or spellbind it. Orders include attack, swing a sword, cast a spell, and move around the halls.

A split screen display provides the data on your progress. The greater part is taken up with a plan of the current level, which is updated as you progress. At the top of the screen is a message area telling you what is in the room.

When you encounter one of the inhabitants, the window expands to show you and the enemy approaching each other for combat. Both figures look distinctly undernourished - disconcertingly, the troll so resembled Beaker (of Muppets fame) that I could scarce bring myself to attack. A message area at the bottom of the screen handles battle orders and commentary.

If either is killed, the appropriate figure does a slow backward slide and falls to the horizontal position. Casting a spell causes the scene to flash. Retreating has you slowly backing away - if you're lucky.

The split use of animated figures and the variety of encounters make Halls Of Death a very enjoyable game - but I've gone off mummies.