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This isn't another Captain Sensible single but Hewson's successor to the very popular Avalon, described by the company as an "adventure movie". From the same author, Steve Turner, Dragontorc continues the adventures of Maroc. This time Maroc must rescue his old tutor Merlin from the evil clutches of trickily named Morag the Shapeshifter.

Morag, the Witch Queen of the North, has also managed to lay her gnarled hands on one of the five crowns of the British Isles. With all five she can remake the powerful Dragontorc and gain sovereignty of the British Isles.

The first thing you notice about the supplied map is the extent of the playing area, and how much more varied than Avalon it promises to be: ruined castles, Torhenge, the Trollstones concealing Hellsmouth Cave, Wispwood Forest where the lost vaults of Locris are hidden, and many, many more, culminating in Morag's Citadel near the Wrymwood somewhere in Scotland.

The screen has the same design as Avalon: a playing area at the top containing simplified but effective 3D style graphics, with a scroll beneath where information is displayed. You move the astral body of Maroc by keyboard or joystick.

You can load a saved game if you wish - an essential facility as you must progress through no less than 64 levels, from Apprentice Magician to Supreme Lore Lord, and you won't do that in one sitting.

You begin next to a roaring fire in the depths of Wispwood Forest, and the spells of Bane, Move or Servant at your disposal. You select the one you want by scrolling the scroll they're displayed on and using the fire button. Move, the most frequently used spell, allows you to 'transport thy soul' around the various screens.

Servant summons up your friendly tadpole-like sprite who moves about independently, removing and replacing items from your capacious backpack, and investigating other objects. Bane is the Wraithbane spell; as in your actual adventure, it's up to you to discover where and how you can make use of this.

Dragontorc really does combine arcade and adventure as you discover on exploration of the first forest. You know the entrance to the lost vaults of Locris is hidden here, but you must piece together clues from the scenario that comes with the game, and experiment with different objects to see which, if any, opens the vaults.

There are also Wisps and Elves wandering round the place, and you see whether these are to be traded with or defeated: your remaining energy is indicated by a dragon's head at the foot of the screen.

In the Wispwood you move from one screen to the next down gravel avenues, while in the lost vaults we're back with the old doors to open and skeletons to grapple with. By this time you should have extended your magic repertoire and a quick spell-check might reveal an effective weapon against those accursed skeletons.

I found a variety of new objects in the vaults, including three chests, two of which were locked. When I opened the third I was nabbed by a particularly nasty spider, although I did survive clutching a key to one of the other chests, where two spiders promptly arrived to chase me round the room. Regrettably the spells in my backpack didn't include any patented aerosol bug-blaster, and nor was my servant much use as the spiders were bigger than him.

Only two minor problems surfaced in the first few plays: one is the difficulty of controlling Maroc, as in Avalon, with doors closing in your face when you try to go through them; the other is the irritating wait through a lengthy musical interlude between games.

On the plus side, when you die you're resurrected somewhere in the area that you'd reached, though you must reach the actual place of your demise to retrieve the objects you were carrying with you.

Sequels frequently disappoint, but in my limited experience as a minor magician, Dragontorc achieves the near-impossible feat of being even better than Avalon. Avalook yourself.