Melbourne House's latest foray into the adventure world is something very different, as GARY LIDDON, in-house comicbook afficionado and comic character discovers...

Mild, meek and very wimpish reporter Kevin Oliver awakes outside a hospital with absolutely no memory at all, an empty camera in his hand and some small change. Obviously bedazed by his situation, the puzzled reporter searches his synapses and finds three words: two of them make up his name, while the third is puzzlingly meaningless - 'KWAH'. As any amnesiac reporter would, Kevin says the puzzling word and Kablamm!, what was previously a wimp is now a muscle encumbered man of steel dressed in red with a range of super powers as matching accessories. And then Redhawk remembers his mission to hinder the course of evil upon planet Earth. Another quick KWAH later and Redhawk is back into his civilian identity.

After a bit of interaction with the surrounding scenery and a little weeny read of the inlay, the problem to be solved soon becomes frighteningly apparent. Some incredibly naughty person has decided to bomb the local nuclear reactor. If the device deposited there does manage to pop its cork then it's goodbye to at least three quarters of Kevin's home town. Obviously something must be done, and the only effective solution seems to be a Redhawk one.

Despite Redhawk's rather impressive physical endowments, the answer to this particular problem doesn't depend totally upon brawn. Brain is the major talent needed to prevent the surrounding countryside being littered with bits of power station. The first thing to do is get a job at the Daily News as a freelance photographer. This gives Kev a supply of money as long as the Editor get a supply of crime piccies - quite an easy task when you're secretly a trendy superhero-around-town. Six hours are available to Kevin/Redhawk before the bomb goes blam. To solve the problem of the exploding power station, our reddened hero must first sort out the mystery of who actually planted the device. As different characters are encountered and interrogated a veritable web of intrigue becomes apparent. Including the super hero himself, there are six main characters in the game, plus four supervillains who hinder the crusader along the way to truth and justice.

To complicate matters, most of the people around the place have a motive to destroy the power station and it's up to Redhawk, the great detective, to decipher who is behind this rather dangerous malarky. Once that's solved, then a way to prevent a rather nasty mess in the power station should become apparent.

Like all superheroes, Redhawk finds his doings closely monitored by the media, and Redhawk's popularity rating fluctuates according the number of criminals he apprehends or allows to escape. If he gets really unpopular, no-one will talk to him - which makes solving the mystery rather difficult, but if Redhawk spends too long basking in glory and apprehending wrong-doers, he won't have time to investigate the dastardly plot that threatens the entire city. A fine balance has to be maintained throughout the game...

Redhawk marks quite a departure from the usual format of adventures adopted by most software companies nowadays, including those produced by Melbourne themselves. Developed by Simon Price and Mike Lewis under the name of Silhouette Software Systems, the whole project is an extension of Adventure Games on the Amstrad, a book the two lads wrote while they were still at polytechnic. The best way of describing Redhawk is as an interactive comic strip - the way the game works is hardly surprising as Simon Price scripts a comic strip by the name of Redfox. The main idea behind Redhawk, and principal difference between the game and most other adventures, is that although it's not an arcade game, all the action takes place in real time with the situation and characters constantly being updated as text is input by the user. With a set of cartoon frames running across the top, the screen action is shown in classic comic book style as Kevin/Redhawk obeys the player's commands. Each new command entered by the player affects the cartoon frame on the right of the screen, and the frames scroll to the left, making a mini cartoon strip which is continually added to as the game unfolds.

Interacting with other characters is fun, as speech bubbles superimpose themselves on the action frames and speech scrolls itself across. Using the SAY command opens a little cloud-like speech bubble above our hero and text pours out for the benefit of anyone on screen who may be in listening range. All the while a real time clock shows what the time is as the minutes to doom slowly tick away. A very competent attempt at multitasking.

Though wimpish, Kevin has access to enormous power at the mere whisper of 'KWAH'. That power is far from infinite, and there's a little meter there, on screen, to prove it. Such superhero activities as flying and fighting sap away the old super powers until - 'KWAH' - the poor chap is zapped back into his human form for a little rest and recuperation. The Superhero batteries are slowly recharged while Redhawk is in Kevin mode.

The main problem with the Kevin incarnation is his inability to move around easily - he has to rely on taxis and the train system. The Daily News is a bit of a tight outfit as no matter how many receipts Kev collects, Nigel Barlow, the mean Editor, won't give back any money on expenses: that really takes all the fun out of journalism. The only way to fund travel is to sell photos to the paper as the transport facilities cost a rather excessive pound a trip! As the player becomes acquainted with the local geography it's possible to save money by FLYing to destinations in caped crusader mode, but this uses up Super-energy.

Apart from the innovative stuff, Redhawk is replete with all the features that are needed in a competent but more traditional adventure game. Redhawk is easily accessible and should appeal to people who are only interested in arcade games, as well as hardened adventurers. The game really is something new in the adventure world - it has lost the elements of drudgery that many arcadesters accuse adventure games of possessing. As such any Spectrum owner would be well advised to keep an eye out for this novel release. The plot and actual game is full of humour and it is a very relaxing way of passing time with your computer. Anyway, it's great fun to shout 'KWAH' when you're in a tight spot. I can't promise it'll turn you into a muscle rippling mega hero, but it should raise the odd eyebrow from anyone in earshot.

The cartoon style graphics add tremendous atmosphere to Redhawk, and are very quick on the draw. Speed in adventure games is fairly rare, but Redhawk keeps the plot and action on the move by using key word entry from a menu on the bottom of the screen - a great aid to one-finger typists like me! Multiple commands can be entered, making the whole game less of the usual typing exercise. Interaction with other players is difficult at first but becomes easier with practice. Being in charge of a costumed superhero is quite a responsibility - but not one to be taken too seriously in this game. After all, he does wear his underpants over his trousers! Have some fun, go say "KWAH", wear the badge and have a go at being a superhero...

Being an arcade freak, I don't often get the chance to play adventure games let alone comment on them, so I was quite pleased when I found this one in my In Tray. It took me a good while to get the hang of Redhawk as it contains a lot of revolutionary ideas and new concepts in input and output. The game itself wasn't instantly playable but then again to me, most adventures aren't! After a few games, however, I'd really got into the spirit of Redhawk. The screen layout is very effective and the graphics used in the comic strip, although not fantastically exciting, are very well drawn and add excellence to an already good game. Issuing commands is fairly straightforward so it is never really a problem getting Kevin/Redhawk to do the things you want him to do. Generally I quite enjoyed playing Redhawk as it is good fun. I'm not sure quite how long I would play it - for me, as an arcade gamester, it wasn't all that compelling.

Melbourne House
£8.95

Don't, for your own sake, let your baby brother, or sister, get hold of this one. Unless you want to be plagued by the fearful cry of 'Kwah' closely followed by a podgy little frame descending on you from a great height.

"Kwah" is the magic word that transforms hapless, incompetent and plain-looking Kevin (the crime-photographer not the famous magazine editor) into the deep-voiced, hunky and obviously talented Red Hawk.

Red Hawk even plays like a comic book. You enter adventure-style commands in a window at the bottom of the screen while across the top the story unfolds frame-by-frame in true comic style. The graphics ain't stunning and they do tend to get a bit repetitive but at least you really feel like the hero in a real-live comic strip.

What's more, with interactive characters flitting about the place and the ability to accept some very complicated commands, it's not the usual adventuring slog at all. You can wander about quite freely without fear of instant death keeping an eye on the world, hunting for those front-page piccies and cleaning the streets of criminal scum while you're at it.

Provided you don't antagonise people (by bopping the odd policeman or talking in the library - and in particular, don't get into fights when you're Kevin not Red Hawk) - it gets to be quite a relaxed game. So relaxed in places that you'll be sitting watching a comic strip showing Kevin hanging around while "Time passes...". Or say "Kwah" and watch Red Hawk hanging about on street corners while... You get the picture.

And that's the rub - the game is almost so realistic that you can get bored looking for the next piece of action. In comics, it's all go, go go! When was the last time Judge Dredd spent an eight-parter having a bath? But, as they say, when the going gets going... It doesn't half get going. You'll believe and adventure can fly...

Publisher: Melbourne House
Price: £8.95

Redhawk is the first adventure from Melbourne House since Lord of the Rings.

If you're looking for more of the same then you're in for a disappointment. Redhawk draws on elements from Mugsy to produce a kind of adventure cartoon strip. The action takes place in three 'boxes' across the screen with text appearing as 'bubbles' above each character.

You are Kevin Oliver, amnesiac and possessor of amazing powers. All you have to do is say the word 'Kwah!' and you become Redhawk, the superhero, dressed in a very natty little cape and with a head-dress reminiscent of Horus, the Hawk God of Ancient Egypt. Must have been bitten by a scarab...

Below the strip cartoon style graphics window is a text input area used for communication with the program, and two status indicators, one showing your current energy level, and the other your current popularity rating. There's also a little picture showing just who you are at the moment - useful when you have a case of split personality.

Below the text window, there's a line of 10 functions - these are command words which you can access just by hitting symbol shift and the right number - so symbol shift 3, 4 means you have input 'Say "Kwah"', which is the magic word to toggle from Kevin to Redhawk and vice versa.

Above the graphics window, there's just enough space for a line of text, which is one of the two ways the program communicates with you. If you've input something it doesn't understand, then it flashes up 'Redhawk is confused'. It can also give you further information about your status or the location you are in.

The other way the game talks to you is via speech bubbles which form themselves just above the characters' heads. Whatever you say to someone appears in one of these balloons, and what they say to you does likewise.

So much for the mechanics of the game. What's it like?

When the game begins, you find yourself standing outside a hospital. You remember nothing except the magic word. The first thing is to establish yourself as a respectable superhero, so the police will stop laughing at you when you turn up at the cop shop in your halloween costume. Then get a decent job - you know, like the one Clark Kent has? - so that you can barge in places where you're not usually welcome and can afford to take taxis around the city.

Begin by travelling south-east from the hospital. You'll find yourself in a shameful and smelly location. Somewhere here you'll find something that will make somebody hire you on the spot - it must be a sign. When he asks you what you want, be negative and snap at him.

From there, go to the wide open green spaces, and hang around looking for the sort of person who could easily help you meet the boys in blue. Get him to accompany you, and don't forget the mugshot.

When the city's finest have done congratulating you, they should give you something that crackles, and I don't mean rice crispies. Don't forget to do your job properly and your new employer will also give you something that crackles - only this time it's green and folds, and I don't mean lettuce.

Redhawk has all the Melbourne House hallmarks: the game style is highly original and the presentation is slick and its all cleverly programmed.

A game of the Sherlock class it certainly isn't, however. Seasoned adventurers will find the going quite easy.

But it is an excellent introductory adventure.

Next time, though, I'm putting on thermal underwear - these body-stockings may look fancy, but they're just a bit too cold around the pin feathers.

THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN GAMES BASED ON EXISTING COMIC STRIP HEROES, BUT NOW MELBOURNE HOUSE HAVE CREATED THE FIRST ORIGINAL SUPERHERO FOR THE SPECTRUM.

Melbourne House
£7.95

Redhawk is a highly original adventure game that attempts to recreate the format of a Batman or Superman style comic strip on your computer screen. In it, you play the part of Kevin Oliver, a mild mannered chap who wakes up in hospital one day, unable to remember what's been happening to him. For some reason the only thing that he can remember is the word 'kwah', which, when uttered turns him into the ultra-dynamic superhero, Redhawk.

Redhawk has superstrength and the ability to fly, which is probably just as well because Kevin's a bit of a wimp and doesn't even have enough strength to fight an uncooperative librarian.

At the start of the game Kevin is carrying an unloaded camera which can get him a job as a news photographer. This will keep him in touch with all the criminal goings on in his home town, and as you go through the game you can choose between playing Redhawk as a superhero or a supervlllain, according to your actions at various stages. If you do your best to defeat criminals and solve the main problem of the bomb hidden in the power station, then Redhawk's popularity (measured by a bar meter) will increase and people will be more likely to trust him and offer help. However there is always the option of running amok and beating the living daylights out of everyone you come across, but this is likely to get you arrested and slung in jail (though there is a way out of this if you time your identity changes properly).

In some ways Redhawk is a fairly traditional adventure in that you enter all your commands as text in the lower section of the screen, but the elements of originality lie in the way that the game responds to your input.

The top half of the screen is divided into a row of three cartoon drawings which elect the actions that you make Kevin/Redhawk carry out. The right hand cartoon is updated to show what happens after a command and this then scrolls left leaving the right hand position for the next cartoon. When, for example, you decide to switch identities by saying 'kwah', one cartoon will show a close up of your face and the word 'kwah' in a speech balloon, the next will be a flashing block of colour representing the transformation, then the final cartoon will show our costume crusader along with the caption 'Redhawk appears'.

The text editor is very sophisticated, and allows you to store up to ten lines of commands at a time, as well as accepting a fairly wide vocabulary. This saves you having to type out commands over and over, so that if you wish to enter the same command more than once within a short space of time you can just scroll the text display back to the first time you typed it and use it again.

There is also a series of single key entry commands for the most often used adventure words (examine, get, say, save, load eta) which can save a lot of time.

The text area also has status displays for your current identity, strength, popularity and the time of day, all of which can come in useful during the course of the game.

There are a number of characters and objects in the game that you can manipulate and deal with as you would in any ordinary adventure, but the sophistication of the cartoon strip style of presentation does seem to have eaten up quite a lot of the Spectrum's memory so that the game itself doesn't really match the level of complexity and problem solving that more conventional adventures might offer. After playing Redhawk for a while I began to feel that I was going over the same ground time quite a lot of the time, and this format would probably benefit from the extra memory of a 128K machine.

In the end it's hard to judge Redhawk as it's something of a hybrid. As an adventure it's not as challenging as a Level 9 game might be, neither does it have the sort of dazzling graphics and action that might appeal to the arcade player. But it does have its merits, and as a sort of eccentric one-off game it could well be worth a look if you'd like to have a break from the more conventional games that are cluttering up the shelves.

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