Here is another detective Adventure, with an awful pun as the title! You play the part of a French detective, but that is not to say you have to bungle things!

You are outside "Chez Fawcett", about to investigate the death of Major Fawcett. Lying around the house are various clues and using these you must put two and two together to solve the mystery of who dunnit.

There are various characters around who may be questioned, including the gardener, who gets very upset if you try to dig up his prize lawn!

The Adventure is quite well written, with graphics at many locations. Unfortunately, the presentation is very ordinary - the text display is only passable, for instance, "you also see:-" remains on the screen even if there is nothing following it - and the graphics are rather mundane, although instant.

Of course, it is all very well joking about Sherlock and its bugs - perhaps one does that because one expects so much from it. However, Sherlock very much puts a game like Clues 'O' in the shade, for the characters seem lifeless and wooden in comparison with Basil, Watson and co. In fact, I mistook Mrs Fawcett, who I discovered in the cellar, to be a corpse! No "Good morning, Clueso" or "That is brilliant, Clueso", from her! In fact she let me kick her and prod her at will without any sign of protestation! She uttered one cryptic sentence when I questioned her, and promptly left the cellar!

There is some humour in the game, especially over the french doors, where the computer thinks you are getting English and French mixed up!

Clues 'O' is from Imperial Software, for the 48k Spectrum, priced £8.95. I think it is overpriced.

An interesting adventure, this one. At first glance it appears to be a standard text/graphics adventure, from a little known software house, but upon closer inspection it is obvious that "Clueso" has something a little special.

The plot is basically a murder/mystery set in France, as indicated by the loading screen which shows a detective and a window view of Paris, including, of course, the Eiffel Tower. The layout of the game is in the form of a small graphic picture, though not all locations are accompanied with illustrations. Some of these graphics are very nice, and they are all followed by a text description of the location.

This all sounds like pretty standard stuff, and indeed it is, but as I said, this game has that little extra - a sense of humour. One of the first things the player finds is a ringing telephone (complete with sound effect) which when answered is revealed to be a wrong number. Later on, though, the phone plays a more useful purpose. Another nice touch is the use of French. Instead of replying with the boring "I don't understand" when stuck for words, this program uses the French equivalent "Je ne comprend pas". But as with the telephone, the use of French is not only there for variety and a knowledge of the language comes in handy later on.

Overall, "Clueso" is an enjoyable program, with fast responses and a strong sense of humour. This game is recommended - as long as you know your French!

Available from Imperial Software, Imperial House, 153 Churchill Road, Poole, Dorset.