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Arcus Odyssey is a lot of things, most of them good, but one thing it *isn't* is original. Take the, if you will 'plot' - it's your usual sub-Tolkien, sub-standard game scenario fodder. The Sword of Leaty, the only weapon that can destroy the evil sorceress Castomira, has been stolen by her followers to prevent it ever being wielded against her. As the witch's dark forces cut across the peaceful kingdom of Arcus, a band of warriors set out to reclaim the Sword and put an end to Castomira's reign.

Arcus Odyssey can be played by one or two players simultaneously, each assuming the role of one of the four heroes; a mightly swordman, a whip-cracking Amazon, an Elven archer or an aged wizard, each with varying fighting, spellcasting and health ratings. As the players explore the scrolling mazes, they encounter an more-imaginative-than-usual bestiary of miscreants to slay, and heavy oak chests to crack open.

Ho hum, yet another Gauntlet variant. Seen it, done it, bought the T-shirt, eaten the breakfast cereal. Okay, so the influences of Atari's classic four-player coin-op are pretty obvious, but there's much more to Arcus Odyssey than simply beating up beasties and amassing points.

Friendlier characters can be chatted to. Well, I say 'chatted', but it's definitely a one-sided conversation - the player simply bumps into the character, a text window pops up and a stream of dialogue appears. This can be useful or useless, either telling you where a certain vital item is hidden or nothing. It's annoying that, once you know where a secret item is located, in future games you can't shortcut straight there. Instead, you have to talk to the character again, even though you know exactly what they're going to say.

The magic items found in the chests add a bit of spice too. Instead of just awarding increased shot power or speed, they perform such actions as summoning protective elemental spirits or awarding temporary invulnerability. The player can store the magic items in an inventory and call them forth when required, rather than having to use them as soon as they're collected.

To put it simply, Arcus Odyssey is one of the finest examples of the arcade adventure genre to appeaar on the Megadrive. Well worth forking out forty sovs for, I'd say.

Initially, despite some flash (though occasionally garish) graphics, Arcus Odyssey seems little more than Gauntlet at an odd angle with bigger sprites and substantially fewer monsters.

First impressions can be, and in this case are, misleading. While the slimoid-smashing forms the major gameplay element, there's also a healthy dose of quest-completing japery in there as well. Although Arcus Odyssey is reasonably challenging, the password system means that the game is likely to be completed sooner rather than later.

1. Non-stop hack-'n-slay action.
2. Full of interest-sustaining surprises and challenges.
3. Endless stream of bizarre nasties to off.

1. Diagonal control takes some getting used to.
2. A tad too easy to finish.
3. Fiddly password system.