My first experience of Freescape involved Driller on the Spectrum, and wasn't one I'd wish to repeat, but I have to admit they've steadily got better.

Indeed, Incentive's three 3D games have proved to be hits across all formats (although they only really come into their own on the Amiga, of course) and, I must admit, deserve it too. Freescape may not exactly be state of the art these days (you won't find yourself flying over smoothly scrolling Hunter landscapes, or under pressure from waves of Cybercon III baddies), but the atmosphere invention and spirit of adventure Incentive have managed to incorporate into their games make up for any technical deficiencies like jerky screen updates and lack of proper animation. Good stuff, that's for sure, and - blimey! - here are all three original games (Driller, Total Eclipse and Castle Master) on one compilation, together with a completely new one called The Crypt.

Driller's first, chronologically speaking, and already you're a planet's only hope of survival. You've got to save it by driving a probe around one of its moons, collecting energy crystals and drilling for gas. There's a flying thing you can use too, if you can find it, and fearsome defences to watch out for. Following that is Total Eclipse, which is similar but kicks off in Egypt, outside a pyramid. It's the Earth that needs saving this time, so you've got to go into the pyramid and not come out until you've destroyed a shrine to stop some curse of other. There's a very Egyptian feel to it, but don't expect all the locations to look as nice as the first one.

Castle Master makes substantial improvements over the first two games. The puzzles are a lot more varied, thanks to the addition of an 'action' key which means you can move things, eat things and open thigns whilst before you could only shoot them. It also cuts down a bit on the large number 'sudden deaths' that made the others slightly annoying. Having said that, you've still got to be pretty careful, though.

And then there's The Crypt, a completely new game, though showing less of an advance over previous Freescape than the others did. It carries on from where Castle Master left off - you're trapped in a Crypt, having failed to defeat the baddy in Castle Master, and you're obviously quite keen to escape. Luckily there are lots of keys lying around, but you'll have to solve puzzles to get them. Watch out for all the scary coffins, too. It might be a bit smaller, but it's just as good as Castle Master and so therefore a bit of a must.

So Domark have got you by the short and curlies really. If you haven't tried Freescape before you've absolutely got to buy Virtual Worlds, no doubt about it - there's a big chunk of gaming history here alright. And if you have, well, this is the only way you're going to be able to get The Crypt, isn't it? It just goes to show what you could achieve with 3D Construction Kit if you put your mind (and fifty quid) to it.

Measured in hours of playing time per pound, this one has 'essential purchase' stamped all over it. In red.