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The old gods of Tessera have been deposed, and the evil Archmage has taken control, imposing his own despotic regime. The only chance Tessera has to regain a sense of calm is to revive the last remaining free god from his ice-tomb in the farthest Coratinian State. Byan extraordinary chance, this fateful mission has literally fallen at your door, and so with four shuriken, a handful of peddles and an earthenware bowl, you begin your journey of discovery.

The quest will take you through the eight kingdoms, each with various geographically distinct regions. Passage from one region to another is via doorways, sometimes open, whilst sometimes guarded or hidden. Within the regions you will encounter the Archmage's hordes, who come in various shapes and sizes, from the average minion armed with peddles, to two-headed wolves and rodent-man, and this is just on level one. Often these encounters will result in a head-to-head battle, with the vanquished foe leaving weapons or ammunition behind, which if collected will replenish your supplies.

In addition to the obvious arcade elements, a distinct adventuring element is also evident, albeit very simple. For example, one of the exits to another region is guarded by the aforementioned rodent-man. In battle he is practically impossible to beat, but if you approach him with a chunk of mouldy cheese, he's as quiet as a church mouse. The way the game runs also does away with having to type in endless streams of instructions, and in this particular example, if you are carrying the cheese when you approach the rodent, it automatically throws it to the rodent-man, saving a whole lot of hassle hunting for the correct phrase. In this way some of the depth of an adventure is included in the game, whilst the need for endless typing is done away with. Surprisingly perhaps, it works.

The programming and presentation of the game is very slick. A first person perspective view takes up the majority of the screen, within which the scrolling is extremely smooth and fast. Exteriors are a little bland, with the horizon and the occasional tree or building providing the only relief from the bowling green terrain. The figures within the landscapes move fast, and the solid shading of the figures makes the action much more realistic and convincing. Interiors, similarly, are colourful, and the scrolling fast.

Around the main screen are various icons which indicate health, the time, magic power and other relevant information, whilst under the main area is an inventory, which changes to a dialogue box should someone you encounter want to talk to you rather than kill you. The screen layout is well thought out and effective, providing a lot of information in a very clear form.

Unfortunately, the sound is not up to the standard of the graphics, being limited to a tune at the start, and various spot noises throughout. I'm sure that a little more sound, well placed and utilised, could have added tremendously to the atmosphere of the game.

On the playability front, the game doesn't score as highly as the presentation. Within each region, there is little to do apart from slog around bashing minions and hunting for a building or any exits to the next levels. Should you find a building, it's simply a matter of entering and picking up whatever happens to be lying around. Initially this proves a little discouraging, although, as time goes on, you progress, building up weaponry and strength and solving puzzles. This begins to increase the addictiveness of the game, and eventually I found the game rather stimulating and engaging. Definitely a slow burner.

An unusual game, which does score in marrying an arcade game with an adventure with pleasant results. It's not going to appeal to every adventurer or arcadester, but I'm sure that it will have its devotees, and I suspect that it will feature in Play to Win quite prominently over the next few months.