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A platform game is a platform game is a platform game. Nothing wrong with that. Every now and then, another one turns up that is so good it puts all the others in the shade. Monty On The Run for example.

Wizard isn't quite in the Monty mould, but it does have a few notable characteristics which set it apart. The game itself is typical platform fare. You control Wilfred Wizard - up and down ropes, 45 degree walls, ladders, etc. Wilfred likes to collect bars of gold, pearls, chalices, etc from obscure parts of the screen. Ghosts, monsters, zombies, etc try to thwart him. So far, so predictable.

When you get fed up with one screen, by collecting a key and taking it to the keyboard you can move on to the next. The keys also give Wilfred the power to cast spells. He can become invisible (which tends to hinder you, rather than anyone else), teleport himself and hurl fireballs and numerous other things.

There are forty screens to work your way through, but if that's not enough then you can construct your own. Either starting with a clear screen or by altering one of the existing ones you can build walls, hang ropes, position treasure, keys and animated monsters, define Wilfred's starting position and the number of spells he has. Ariola hardly mention this facility on the packaging which is surprising considering it's probably the game's only outstanding feature!

There are actually a couple of other things worthy of a mention. As well as six different levels, Wizard also has ten different speeds. So if things are a little slow you can zip 'em up. There is also a top ten roll of honour which automatically saves to disk.

Just to end on a sour note. Each screen loads separately which is fine if you're using a disk drive, but could be tedious for cassette users.