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Vikings were just so gorgeous. Okay, so they might have been a bit keen on the old raping and pillaging, but you could put that down to high spirits and the survival instinct. When they weren't conquering new lands, they were eating pigs, drinking ale and plaiting their wives' hair. Honest. Another favourite pastime was telling stories. A favourite tale was that of Heimdall - a brave warrior with golden locks, a great capacity for beer and porkers, and the biggest horns this side of Oslo. His function in life was to save the gods from destruction by finding their lost weapons.

As Heimdall you must pass a few tests, choose a crew and set sail for dangerous and distant islands. Somewhere in this god-forsaken land are hidden the three weapons, but, before you can reach them, you have to run away from horrendous monsters and collect everything you come across.

Depending how well you do in the initial attribute tests, you have more crew members to choose from. Although you have five in all, you can only take two of them with you when you land on an island. Each of them has his own strengths and weaknesses, so try and get as balanced a crew as possible. Ideally, you want brawn to snap the monsters in two, and brains to work out runic messages. Oh, and it's probably a good idea to have somebody who knows how to sail.

When you reach an island, disembark and have a look around - there might not be anything there, but it's best to make sure. Avoid the traps and pick up any food, gold and scrolls you come across. Examine the scrolls to see what sort of spell you've grabbed. You also come across chests. Now, these are a bit dodgy 'cos they might contain something useful, like a spell. Alternatively, they might contain traps. You are asked if you want to disarm the chest - if you've got the necessary spell, then you can use it. If there's no trap in the chest, then you've just wasted your spell. Food comes in handy later when the crew's rations have run out, but if you've collected enough food, then you can share it out and keep up your men's strength. Likewise, gold can be used when you come across shops.

As well as goodies, there are also some real nasties lying in wait for you. Get close to them and the combat screen appears, indicating the health of your three characters and the monster. You can run away from some monsters but you have to fight others. Choose your method of combat - fist or sword - and fight. If you're successful, search the corpse for treasure and continue on your way. You've got loads of islands to get through, so it's best to be as organised and systematic as possible.

Heimdall is an engrossing role-playing game that should keep you occupied for ages. Until all your crew are wiped out, anyway. All the graphics are big, bold and colourful. If this is your kind of game, then there's hours of pleasure to be had from Heimdall. For those of a less patient nature, the disk-swapping might get a tad tedious. There are five disks and, although there's nothing difficult in taking one out and putting another one in, it does slow the game down. It's extremely annoying to land on an island, all ready for action and then have to wait a few minutes before you can carry on. But all in all, the chances are that you're going to have a brilliant time... if you have a bit of patience.

1. A search and destroy role-playing game with absolutely tons to do.
2. Unfortunately the action is slowed down a bit by the disk-swapping.
3. Great graphics and tough enough to give you a good run for your money.