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Activision are just as American as Macdonalds, apple pie and Wico joysticks. As a result their software starts life on the Atari or Commodore 64 and is then converted to run on the Amstrad. As each game is designed to make the most of the first machine, the translation process does not produce a game which makes the most of the final machine. Master of the Lamps started life on the Commodore 64. This has a better sound chip than the CPC464 but poorer graphics. No attempt has been made to beef up the display, so, despite the excellent music on the '464, Master of the lamps has lost some of its charm.

The plot is very simple. In true Arabian fashion, you have seven tasks to complete. For each one, you are awarded a segment of a magic lamp with which to trap a rogue genie. The object of the game is to collect all seven segments. The tasks are all the same. You have to fly a magic carpet through a tunnel to reach the genie's lair. The sequence is similar to the tunnels in 'Dark Star' or the arcade game l'ac-Scan'. It would have been much nicer if this had been done in mode 1 rather than the chunkier mode 0 which is used. Activision expect you to memorise these tunnels and even supply a version which consists of just flying through the tunnels without a lair at the end. In practice, you can get by just looking far enough ahead.

The lair is the main part of the program, this is a refined 'Simon' type game. Hitting one of the gongs three times causes the genie to appear. Simply hitting once or twice sounds the gong; so, unless you have read the instructions, you are likely to be waiting a long time for something to happen. The genie blows note-shaped smoke ring's which tumble towards holes in the ground. You have to hit a coloured gong to produce the same sound before the note reaches the hole. If you fail, you have to ride the magic carpet through the tunnel again.

You do not have a set number of lives in The Master of the Lamps; the worst that can happen is that you may be sent back to the beginning of the last tunnel. This means that however badly you play, you can get to the end and, if you persevere for long enough you can complete the game. I got bored before I finished.