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Ultima IV, the latest in the Ultima saga, is the tale of the land of Brittania after the fall of the Triad of Evil.

Lord British, the all-powerful ruler, has sent out a message to all the lands to find a person capable of completing the quest of the Avatar, and you have taken up the challenge.

The beginning is like a graphics adventure. You move between locations until you meet a gypsy woman in her caravan. She bids you to sit and you proceed to answer multi-choice questions about cards which she places on the table in pairs.

As you answer, you build up your character which is represented on an abacus-like object. On your last choice the game starts.

You will be one of eight professions - mage, fighter, tinker, and so on - depending on how you answered the questions, and you find yourself outside the home town of your profession.

The display shows you as a single figure in the surrounding countryside. You cannot see beyond mountains or dense trees, which sometimes means that blocks of the display are left blank.

Movement is with the arrow keys and other commands like Attack are carried out by single key strokes.

I found that the most useful command was Talk. If you stand next to one of the town's inhabitants and it T followed by a direction key - his replies will appear in the text window.

If you type Job he might say: "I search for the blue stone". Then if you type Stone he will tell what he can.

Do not lie to characters when they ask for a response as this reflects on your character and will do you no good later on. Some characters will join your party if pressed.

Magic is important in this game, but it is also rather tricky. The Book of Mystic Wisdom, which is included with the game gives details of the reagents required for spells, and clues as to their quantities.

The whole game is, according to the advertising blurb, sixteen times bigger than Ultima III.

With two discs, a book on the history of Brittania, the Book of Mystick Wisdom, and a full colour vinyl map of the land, it is good value. Ultima IV is an excellent game which deserves the attention of every keen adventurer.