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A little-known company called Heyley Software appears to have won the race to release the first adventure for the Arc. It is, however, an extended version of a game already available for the original BBC from the same company.

You start off trapped in a cell aboard a starfreighter. An ugly guard keeps a close watch, but if you let time take its course, freedom becomes a distinct possibility. Having eluded the guard, you must then find a way to land the ship and escape.

Adventures that employ a futuristic background often get bogged down in technical jargon. Fortunately Stranded doesn't, and it's generally very tongue-in-cheek. There are even a few surprise guests along the way with appearances from Tommy Cannon (Cannon and Ball) and Marillion lead singer Fish.

Technically, the game is OK, but the disc is accessed frequently. I would have thought that, given the Arc's large memory capacity, most of the adventure could be loaded in at one go. There is, though, a kind of RAM disc facility available to store your current position. Games can also be saved to disc if a more permanent record is required.

Although all commands can be typed in, the save facility and other useful commands can be accessed via the mouse. The icons at the top of the screen relate to short or verbose text descriptions, storage of the current position, and useful commands such as INVENTORY and SCORE. The game is enjoyable and amusing to play - and I haven't managed to finish it yet.