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I have been a game player for many long years, during which I have played a large number of adventure, role-playing and arcade games. When a single title combines aspects of the three in one box, it's cause for celebration... if the programmer can pull it off. Enter the new computer game by Monolith Productions entitled Get Medieval.

From the moment it first appeared on my monitor, I had a feeling that I had played this game before and indeed I had. Some fifteen years ago, a game called Gauntlet made its debut in the arcades. I pumped enough quarters into that machine to put my daughter through college. I don't regret a single cent of it. This game is so similar to that classic, they should have called it Gauntlet II. So much for originality. On the other hand, Gauntlet was such a fun game, I found myself impatient to start. I was ready to Get Medieval.

Get Medieval is an arcade game with fantasy role-playing and adventure elements. The overhead view scrolls with you, as you run around an underground labyrinth collecting treasure, finding magic items and, you've guessed it, killing monsters. The twist here is that up to four people can play simultaneously. It can even be played over the Internet.

You can use a keyboard, joystick or game pad to guide your character through the various levels, though I found it easiest with the game pad. It was too hard to fire diagonally with the keyboard. There are four characters from which to choose, two male, two female. There's an archer, a sorceress, an amazon warrior and a barbarian that sounds just like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I tried the game with each of the four, thoroughly entertained by each of the character's running commentary. If you find that you aren't amused, there is an option to kill the dialogue, but it was so comical that I found myself waiting to hear what they would say next. For example, when you've killed everything in an area and have to backtrack, the characters become bored and obnoxious. Now that's my kind of game!

Part of the fun is figuring out where to go next. Certain keys open certain doors and there are pressure plates on the floor that trigger others. There are seventeen different creatures roaming the depths of the labyrinth. If it weren't for the healing potions and power ups, you'd never make it. Even with the extra aid, I could only handle the second of the three difficulty levels.

There are several other factors that make the game more difficult as you descend through the labyrinth. There's a thief that steals your weapons and armor, a wizard that reverses your controls while you're playing, stun plates that shock you when you run over them and tar and lava puddles, which will slow you down or burn you up respectively. The graphics are good and the audio quality is exceptional. The game is certainly playable, testified to by the fact that I played for so long, I can barely type this review. Another thing that I liked about the game were it's modest minimum requirements. If you have a Pentium 90, 16 megs of ram, a 2 meg direct-x compatible video card and a sound card, you're good to go.

The only real complaint that I have, is that the manual is only available on the CD. I prefer to have an open book in front of me when I play a new game. However, Get Medieval was so intuitive that I didn't look at the manual until it was time to write this review. Get Medieval may not be for everyone. It has to it a certain arcade feel that might put off some "serious" gamers. However, if you're out to have fun, this may well be the game for you.

Steve Lazarowitz reads and writes fantasy and SF. His work has been published in a number of online 'zines and he is the editor of the Dragonclaw Showcase. His short story anthology A Creative Edge: Tales of Speculation is due out from Domhan books in 1999.