There was a time when a price of £2.95 meant a fairly grotty deal. Mastertronic changed all that, but here, it seems, is an anachronism; a really pathetic attempt at an adventure.

Time Of The End originally appeared on the Spectrum 48K, to a lukewarm reception, but was apparently quite playable and at the least enjoyable. The Commodore version dispenses with such luxuries.

The storyline follows the "save the world from horrible nasties" theme: you are an ordinary chap who is whisked away to "a science fantasy adventure rich in atmosphere" to try and stop the aliens, who are toying with earth.

You appear in three different 'incarnations' throughout the game, in effect dividing it into three subsections: as a man, a bird and an old man. The story is also spread over the alien planet and earth, with a seemingly large amount of 'teleporting' between the two - this strikes you as being when the author ran out of linkable ideas.

The first noticeable features of the game are the amateurish nature and an incredibly evident lack of quality, in both adventure and presentation. It is obviously Quilled, but gives no credit, and employs the well-known tactic 'when a complex, but satisfying, logical solution for a problem cannot be found, go for total obscurity'. This leads to such wonders as: when transforming from a bird to a man, you need to drown yourself in a moonlit river, while watched by a ninety year old.

Still, the game is not lacking in imagination or humour. When, for example, in a subway there is "the obligatory Dylaneque busker", and when crooning by the moonlit river, you have a boot thrown at you. But it is lacking the polish of a professional adventure, and being Quilled is no excuse, as the Very Big Cave Adventure and Bored Of The Rings proved.

It's a horrifying thought that a newcomer to adventuring may be completely dissuaded from continuing by such drivel, when Kentilla is of much higher quality, has graphics and Rob Hubbard (gasp!) music... and is nearly a pound cheaper!