The year was 1830. Deep within the dreary halls of an ancient castle in Austria, an evil force was stirring. It had been many years since Dracula, Lord of Darkness, had been banished from the world of the living by vampire slayer Morris Baldwin. In the eyes of a dark-hearted woman named Camilla, it had been too long since Dracula stalked the land. Camilla called for the return of Dracula, and succeeded in resurrecting that vile soul once again. With Dracula's return, the halls of his castle were once again filled with the most hideous creatures imaginable -- each determined to serve their master and feast on the blood of the living. One human in particular, an unlikely hero named Nathan Graves, was high on the undead's list of desired delicacies. Armed only with his wits and a whip, Nathan set out on an impossible crusade to rid the world of Dracula's dark spirit for the last time. Sound familiar? It should. Gamers have been enjoying Castlevania's eerie storylines since 1987, and the latest version of Castlevania for Game Boy Advance is one of the very best in the series. Powered by Game Boy Advance's 32-bit colour graphics, Circle of the Moon looks great and sounds even better. The haunting music tracks and awesome sound effects are some of the greatest audio treats we've ever heard on a portable system. Turn down the sound on this one and you'll be losing a great deal of the gloomy atmosphere which is crucial to the Castlevania experience. Circle of the Moon relies heavily on the platform-jumping skeleton-whipping formula which led to Castlevania's initial success, but Konami has created some new gameplay elements which add to its depth. Instead of simply working your way from point A to point B in Dracula's castle, you can choose your own route through branching passageways and corridors. The gameplay is mostly linear, but you'll definitely make a few wrong turns before figuring out where you're supposed to go next. You'll frequently spot corridors and passageways which are just out of reach. As you progress through the game and defeat bosses, you'll acquire special abilities which allow you to access these previously off-limits areas. This adds an adventurous feel to the game and ensures that you check your map frequently to see which areas could use some more exploration. Hidden rooms and other secrets will have you whipping every last wall in search of undiscovered treasures. Experience points are earned each time you defeat an enemy, and as you collect these points your character will level-up and become more powerful. You can also strengthen your character by picking up progressively stronger armour pieces and other special items like rings and potions. By collecting Action Cards and Attribute Cards, you can create over 80 spell effects which range from Fire Whips to Ice Blizzards. Using these spell effects drains your magic meter, but they come in very handy when trying to take out a boss character. While we're on the subject, the bosses in this game are gnarly enough to make you run home to mummy. You won't be taking out these beasts in just one try. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon offers an impressive number of save slots -- eight! -- but unfortunately the only way to save your game is to find Save Points throughout the castle. For a portable game which you may have to turn off at any moment, it would have been nice to be able save instantly whenever you'd like. The saving issue is a small one, though, and it doesn't stand in the way of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon being one of the very best games available for Game Boy Advance. Challenging action, rewarding gameplay and incredible depth make Circle of the Moon one of the most fun and replayable action games around. As long as you don't scare easily, that is.