Look in to the eyes, the eyes, don’t look around the eyes...you’re under...

It takes approximately 9 seconds for the 1991 Mega Drive conversion of the Apple IIGS game ‘The Immortal’ to begin to show its quality. The evocative, melancholic, melody and skeletal visage that greet you on the title screen create ample atmosphere for this intelligent, if occasionally frustrating, RPG. The potential for instant death exists in the very first room of the dungeon in which you start if you fail to heed a warning to move from the discoloured floor tile that your curiosity has prompted you to investigate. It’ll be that same curiosity that’ll goad you in to stepping back on to said floor tile after a few seconds of contemplation and it’s then that you’ll learn that curiosity is no more a friend to you than it was to the cat when you’re eaten by a ruddy great worm that erupts from the ground. Make no mistake, this is a tough and, sometimes, punishing game that ultimately rewards perseverance.

Your in-game avatar is an unusual fellow by today’s macho male and nubile female character standards. He sports a rather fetching full white beard, a robe and staff that mark him as a wizardy type, has at least three score years under his belt and, curiously, remains nameless throughout the entire game. This nameless wizard has undertaken a quest to find his master who is missing in the depths of a labyrinthine dungeon; a quest that requires puzzling, combat and a smattering of trial and error.