At last, Legend has released Valhalla for the C64. I say at last because it made Game Of The Year on the Spectrum. But this new version not only equals, but improves upon the original. Apart from running faster on the C64, the characters are now in colour - and there is a 'mono' command for those with monochrome monitors and TVs, which selects a more limited, but easier to see, colour scheme.

For those who don't know what all the fuss is about, I shall attempt the impossible, in describing Valhalla in one paragraph. It's a real-time adventure game in which the players must find magical objects. As you roam through the graphically-depicted locations, you can gather food, weapons, armour and other such items along the way, which are vital to your survival. The player and any other characters nearby are presented by little animated figures, which move, fight, eat, drink and generally act out the adventure as described by the text.

As the game is in real-time, even if you didn't do anything, the other characters aren't idle, and will come and go as they please, often fighting amongst themselves - and with you, depending on their opinion of you. One thing about the 'animaction' taking place all around you is that you may actually have to wait a while before the computer processes your command, as you must wait for events such as fights and deaths to end. As the player is depicted on the screen, it is possible to move left and right - to reach a bottle of wine, for instance - and not just the normal N-S-E-W of other adventures. If you issue a command such as 'Get Sword', you will see the player-character do just that on screen.

I have only scratched the surface of the complexities of Valhalla. I could write a book just describing it - indeed, the instructions provided with it are themselves on the meaty side. The what-you-see is what-you-get approach to the accompanying graphics is an interesting approach (They call it 'MOViSOFT').

In conclusion, I hardly have to add that this is a complex, well thought out adventure, which will keep the most intrepid of adventurers amused for many hours of good adventuring. Happy Adventuring!!!