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Ah, many a time I've watched the heroic exploits of Sinbad on t' telly and wished it was me sailing the high seas, performing deeds of derring do and saving voluptuous wenches from the clutches of all things evil. Someone at Cinemaware obviously thought so too, and the result was the Amiga version of Sinbad And The Throne Of The Falcon, released a year ago.

Now we have it on the C64, and it must be said that it's actually better than its previous incarnation, mainly because it's more playable, but also because it's not half as shoddy or clumsy. The plot centres around the kingdom of Damaron where the Caliph has been turned into a falcon (hence the title) by the dastardly Black Prince Camaral. Without a ruler, the city is vulnerable and Camaral and his not-quite-so-evil-but-they-certainly-ain't-no-angels forces could attack at any time.

Enter Sinbad, summoned to the scene by his beloved, the overtly horny princess Syphani. With his hardened crew, Sinbad agrees to scour the world in search of a cure for the Caliph's condition while marshalling the city's forces to prevent it being usurped by the Black Prince. And, you guessed it, this is where you come in. Taking control of Sinbad's actions, you have to search the land for clues, questioning those in the know and performing acts of great bravery, like fighting skeletons and disposing of a cyclops.

During his travels Sinbad encounters danger in a variety of guises - basically simplistic and playable arcade sequences. The ground may suddenly open up and swallow our hero, placing him in a mini platform game in which he has to negotiate two screens of platforms which avoiding falling boulders. In another instance, Sinbad is attacked by a Pteranoxos, a large flying reptilian creature which must be shot down with a crossbow. Then there's the boulder-wielding cyclops, a formidable foe who can only be put out of action with a sling-shot. Unfortunately, both of these tasks lean a little towards the tedious side.

The sword fighting is presented differently from the Amiga version. Instead of two large figures battling it out Barbarian style, you fight the Black prince, skeletons or statues from a first person perspective viewpoint. That's to say, the opponent is shown on screen as if you were standing in front of him (it) and all that can be seen of you is your sword. While this looks quite neat, the fight itself is a bit too sluggish and lacks the playability of the 'original'. Lastly, there's the shipwreck section where you have to negotiate a vertically-scrolling minefield of rocks while picking up survivors of a shipwreck. Tough, but quite enjoyable.

All these tasks are held together with occasional meetings with useful people, a bit of sailing and some simplistic strategic decisions when dealing with Damaron's forces. The graphics are first class, with plenty of detailed and colourful stills and some cute, film-like sequences of animation, for example, the expression and mouth movements of Sinbad and the people he encounters. A suitable soundtrack plays throughout, changing to suit the situation and enhancing the atmosphere no end.

Sinbad And The Throne Of The Falcon isn't much of a game in the traditional sense, but as an interactive movie starring Sinbad it works well enough, and is certain to appeal to fans of Defender Of The Crown on the C64. It also makes up for the tepid C64 version of The three Stooges.