Mystery 2144AD - on PD 657
               (Amiga Tailspin adventure)

                Reviewed by David Froude

The future, a murder and a mystery. All the ingredients for an
interesting plot?

However before we get into the game here are a few notes on the
software and whether it will run on your Amiga.

There is a "help" icon which when activated states the game will
run on the A600 and is friendly to the A1200. It must be assumed
that it will run on the A500+.  I have confirmed the game will run
without any problems on a A2000(1.3) and a 4000/030(3.0).  The
game normally needs l Meg to run but the "help" icon gives
instructions for use with a 512K Amiga.

The game is shareware. A mystery adventure, written by David
Hearne, an Australian, using Microdeal's Talespin.

The disk autoboots, no workbench is necessary. After clicking on
the game icon, menu options are displayed.

You have to go through loading the title option before you can
load the game.

Operation is mouse controlled with text balloons providing the
information. The keyboard is redundant except for typing in the
saved game file name.

You are Detective Harket, and the council of your home planet,
Sycamore, have assigned you to solve a murder case.  Orlando, the
man who founded the first colony on Srerus Three has been
murdered. The suspects live in a small suburb known as Tra and it
is here you conduct your investigation. Your instructions are
implicit, solve the murder but do not ruffle the feathers of the
populace.  Individuals spend up to 80% of their time within their
houses. As an alien it is against the law for you to have personal
contact with any important member of the planet, so when you visit
a house you will not be admitted. All conversations are held via
view screens.

The area of the investigation is over 6 screens. The screens are a
plan view of the terrain, mainly of roads and houses. You click on
a house and a text balloon appears. If it is a "coloured square'
house the text in the balloon is "You visit the house" which goes
black when the mouse pointer rests upon it. Click and you are
presented with a video screen that has a brown picture of a man or
woman. Clicking on this picture responds with a further balloon
which provides information and in most cases will allow you to
click upon set questions. A word of warning, be polite or you
could be in trouble.

It is wise to make a map to record the inhabitants of each house
and note clues they give you for as you progress additional
questions may later be asked of some householders.

At the start only 4 houses may be entered. The first screen has
two of these, one of which is the police station where the police
are not helpful and being rude can be disastrous. The other is an
unhelpful doctor. Don't despair, travelling to other screens and
houses will give you some useful information and cause further
houses to appear.

This is not a difficult adventure and should not take the
experienced adventurer long to complete.

There is a promise of a follow up, "Return to Srerus 3", which
will bigger and better.









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