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Mastertronic - the word means cheap, cheerful, competent computing. They make few claims on originality, and Storm certainly breaks little new ground. The story so far (called Part One, doubtless there are sequels in store for us lucky people) concerns Mr Storm, warrior by trade, and his unfortunate wife Corrine. She has been turned into a helpless prisoner by the evil Una Cum, who, after being driven mad by being the only person in the story with a surname, locked her in his laboratory lair and waltzed off in search of a box called The Fear.

Meanwhile Storm (It could have been worse, he could have been called Light Drizzle With Sunny Patches Later) has enlisted the help of his stout friend Agravain Undead, Wizard and Weedkiller (Undead isn't a surname, more a way of life).

Of course they plan to spring young Corrine from the den of dastardly doings, but Una Cum (boo, hiss) hasn't gone gallivanting about the countryside without a thought for his captive, goodness me no. He's left a swarm of evil minions (close relatives of Pickled Onions) to thwart the sinewy thews of our friend Storm (hurrah!) and his comrade Agrophobia Unzipped (hooray!). They have wits to pit, and into battle they stride.

not to be put off by such puny traps, and plough forward into the depths of the maze. Minions, by the way, are apparently generated by a Unzipped (hooray!). They have wits to pit, and into battle they stride.

Luckily for the two intrepid would-be rescuers, Una Cum and co. are a messy, forgetful bunch. Strewn around in liberal fashion in the maze which comprises the Lair are scrolls and amulets with which to deal mighty blows to the forces of Evil, Nastiness and Murky Misdeeds. Also left by the cleaning lady are pieces of armour which prevent the Hotel Waiters of Hades from hacking (oh!) Stormy and Aggy Babes limb from muscle-bound limb, and food and restorative fluids (honest), left over from the Lairwarming party the night before. These raise energy levels, and help the dynamic duo work, hack and slay. But all is not so cut and dried.

There are Cabbalas, which might sound like a chocolate bar to the uninitiated, but the wise Aggers know that they hide Mystery Prizes, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Our two mighty warriors are not to be put off by such puny traps, and plough forward into the depths of the maze. Minions, by the way, are apparently generated by Minion Generators, which can be temporarily put out of action with a well-aimed thwack. This lasts until the thwacker leaves the room; should he return he will find that the dreaded Service Minion has been and fixed the problem, and nastiness aplenty is once again springing forth from these phasmagorical photocopiers.

To release the captive Corrine (remember her, the token female?) three snake brooches have to be collected, They, along with the other items in this muscle-bound bash, are depicted in chunky, multicoloured form. The action is viewed from above, and all the player sees of the participants in this game is two arms and a hairstyle. Oh, and the occasional dagger.

There's enough here to keep the inveterate dwarfslayer happy for a bloodsoaked hour or two. But who said Gor Blimey?

The front cover says it all. Gothic lettering, beweaponed Neanderthal Ramdo with a notched chopper raised high, leopard-skin clad WAFF (weak and feeble female) cowering helplessly in the lightning-lit background, what more could a frustrated epic fantasier wish for? Well, better graphics.

The game shows the influence of a lot of things: Gauntlet (a rather wonderful four(!) player Atari arcade game in similar style), Swords And Sorcery, Moorcock et al. It doesn't show much originality, but it is playable and might keep a devotee happy for a while.

This is one of the games which was overshadowed by Kane. Storm is an OK sort of game but try as I might I could not get hooked on it. I find this strange because I'll happily spend a fortune on Gauntlet, the arcade denizen on which Storm is based.

But the poor joystick response and the feeling of being lost makes the game feel claustrophobic. It seems a shame to give a budget game a low rating but Mastertronic has created the high standard and must keep to it.

No, nothing to do with inclement weather, it's another arcade adventure in which you have to find the right magical objects to reclaim the fair maiden.

This might have been just another of many if it were not for the excellent use of colour in the design of the graphics. This must rival games like Equinox and Sorcery for making the most use of the available colours

There certainly seem to be many screens to the game which should keep map makers happy for quite a while. All round a highly polished game with some great attention to graphic detail.