Fish! - Magnetic Scrolls RRP œ24.95 Reviewed by Neil Shipman There you are, lazily swimming around in your goldfish bowl when suddenly a plastic castle drops in on your head. As an ace inter- dimensional espionage operative you realise this means your boss, Rear-Admiral Sir Playfair Panchax, has got another job for you. Upon entering the castle you hear his voice inside your head telling you about the latest dastardly deed being perpetrated by the Seven Deadly Fins, a group of inter-dimensional anarchists. It transpires that they are sabotaging a planet full of fish and have stolen and dismantled a focus wheel, something vital to that planet's very existence. Of course, it's up to you to find the bits of the wheel and save the fish world. Strange start to an adventure? Why are you a goldfish? Things will be a lot clearer when you've read the booklet which accompanies the game. In it you learn about the Fins and how they can be thwarted by using the technique of warping. What's a warp? Well, to quote the experts, it's "a convenient method of transferring the mind of a person from this dimension into the body of a living thing in this or any other dimension". When you warp you find yourself in what is known as Host Parasite Mode and, by effectively taking over your host you are able to direct its actions to achieve your ends. All this is pretty stressful, so regular vacations are necessary - and what could be more relaxing than a spell as a goldfish?! When you enter the castle you find that three warps have opened up, each one providing entry into a separate mini-adventure set in (a) a forest, (b) a ruined abbey and (c) a recording studio. Each setting has only about 10 locations but the problems are tightly constructed and success in solving them is rewarded with one of the components of the focus wheel. If you get into a situation where your host-parasite interface breaks down (which can happen if you're subjected to flashing or bright lights, repetitive sounds or loud bangs - or by sleeping) you'll end up back in the goldfish bowl. This isn't fatal at this stage and, if you get stuck in one scenario it gives you the opportunity of trying out another. Once you've got the three components Sir Playfair will tell you how the Fins have sabotaged the fish planet, Hydropolis, and how you must help the fish scientists complete their project to save their world. A new warp opens up and on going through it you find yourself in the body of the project leader, Dr. Roach. This is where the fishy business really begins as you learn from the university principal that one of your team has been taken over by the Fins and is responsible for the sabotage. It's up to you to figure out who it is, find what's necessary to repair the damage and, ultimately, save Hydropolis. This part of the adventure has nearly 50 locations and you'll soon become familiar with the underground omnibus system for moving between different areas of interest - and the trains actually run on time! Many of the problems are fairly straightforward but there are a couple of real crackers. If you can successfully negotiate the dimensions through yet another warp to locate a certain item without looking at the hints, then you're a better fish than I am! Even when you know what you're supposed to be doing don't hang about, because you've only got so long before the Fins' sabotage will succeed. Much of the text - in common with other Magnetic Scrolls adventures - is amusing, but I felt this was rather overdone and the humour loses its impact when it's laid on with a trowel. It's not quite as "over the top" as in Jinxter though. As you might expect, no chance is missed to refer to fish in some way, from the fishton in your sparsely furnished apartment and your Fisa card for instant credit to the names of different types of fish. These include some of the more obscure ones like that of your boss, Panchax, and Opah University where the project is being undertaken. And, while you're on Hydropolis, you can have a whale of a time at the disco, watch "Starfish Wars" at the cinema and get packed onto the tube like a sardine with the rest of your fellow fishy commuters. Fish! is certainly the best proof-read and play-tested adventure from Magnetic Scrolls so far. I noticed only one spelling mistake (in the hardware shop) and no fatal bugs at all (unlike the pub in Jinxter and the hospital in Corruption). The graphics - about 20 in all - are OK if you like that sort of thing, although I don't feel that they add very much to the adventure. Talking of graphics, here's a tip which is applicable to all Magnetic Scrolls games: if you turn the graphics off not only does this speed up the response time when you use the cursor keys to edit commands, it also means that the program doesn't have to access the game disk, so you can leave your saved position disk in the drive throughout. The packaging is a box of thin cardboard of much poorer quality than we've come to expect. As well as the disk it includes your Mission HQ booklet (which is essential reading), a one week travelcard for the Hydropolis omnibus company, a note on how to look after your fish and a fish identification chart. Finally, would I recommend Fish!? Well, if you're a keen adventurer you'll buy it anyway and I think that, on the whole, you'll enjoy the fishy goings on. I'm left with the feeling, though, that by now Mag Scrolls have milked dry their characteristic jokey style and it would be very interesting to see what they could come up with if they approached a topic in a rather more serious vein.